Crusade Against the Grail - Rennes-le-Chateau Research and ...

126 PART THREE
As luck would have it, they met Diego de Acevedo, Bishop of Osma, and his
subprior Domingo de Guzman in Montpellier. Both were returning from Rome
where Pope Innocent had denied them the permission they needed to leave the
Bishopric of Osma so they could dedicate themselves to the conversion of the
heretics. When de Acevedo learned that the Cistercians were thinking of breaking
off their mission, he recommended that they renounce their sumptuous retinue and
mix among the people, barefoot and poor like the Apostles; they might thus have
more success. The idea was so new that at the first instant, the legates vacillated.
But when he declared that he was ready to set a good example and help them in
their mission, they followed his advice. Pierre de Castelnau, Arnaud de Citeaux,
Diego de Acevedo, Domingo de Guzman, and the monks of Fontfroide and
Citeaux left Montpellier and began their pilgrimage across heretical Occitania
barefoot and dressed in hair tunics, preaching the true Gospel of the Catholic
Church.
Roman legates, Cathars, and Waldenses, at the same time and place, claimed
to be the true successors of Christ. Poor like him, they proclaimed the Gospel,
outside of which there is no salvation.
It is true, I tell you
Fortunate are those who suffer
Persecution for the sake of the Gospel,
Because the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them. . . .
MATTHEW 5:10
Two by two, three by three, the Roman legates crisscrossed the southern
provinces, preaching. Their results left a lot to be desired. They were forced to
accept the challenges of the Cathars, who believed that they could resolve who
was closest to the Evangelical doctrines through public debates. Many debates and
conferences took place, but the most important was the one that took place in
Pamiers, in 1207. 17
Pamiers is a small town on the banks of the Ariege, located in the northern
part of the County of Foix. Since 1204, it had been the residence of Esclarmonde,
who was Princess of Foix and Viscountess Jordan y Gimoez. As we have already
mentioned, Esclarmonde had married the Viscount Jordan, from the illustrious
house of Comminges and Selio. After her husband's death, she renounced the
favorable clauses in his