Jacques Saunière

Jacques Saunière (Saint-Clair) is the curator of the Louvre, head of the secret Priory of Sion, and the grandfather of Sophie Neveu. Before being murdered in the museum by Silas, an albino monk tasked by Sir Leigh Teabing, he reveals false information to Silas about the Priory's keystone which contains information about the true location of the Holy Grail. After being shot in the stomach, Saunière uses the last minutes of his life to arrange a series of clues for his estranged granddaughter, Sophie, to unravel the mystery of his death and preserve the secret kept by the Priory of Sion; he also uses it to message that he wants Robert Langdon on the case. When she was younger, his grandaughter Sophie came into his care after her parents and brother had died and she survived. When she was a little bit older and coming back from school, she had seen Saunière perform a sex ritual named Hieros Gamos which caused them to become estranged and not speak for about a decade, and this tense relationship is seen when she continually refers to her grandfather by his last name. Saunière, as the Grand Marshall, also trained young Sophie by having her solve riddles and puzzles. Jacques Saunière is also a descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene but, to not cause suspicion and inflict the Vatican's wrath, changed his surname from Saint-Clair.