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Vatican's Swiss Guard holds ancient ceremony - What did they do?

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'There are two ways of defending the pope: with weapons and with faith.'

The world's oldest standing army, the Vatican's Swiss Guard, has held an ancient ceremony in the San Damasco Courtyard of the Apostolic Palace on Saturday, May 6.

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The guards commemorate the 147 Swiss Guards who died while protecting Pope Clement VII during the 1427 Sack of Rome (EPA).

Highlights

By Kenya Sinclair (CALIFORNIA NETWORK)
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
5/7/2017 (6 years ago)

Published in Europe

Keywords: Vatican, guards, uniforms, Swiss Guard

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - This weekend, 40 young men between 19 and 30-years-old were sworn into the Vatican's Swiss Guard.

They donned the yellow, blue and red uniforms, received their armor and wore metal helmets with scarlet ostrich plumes.

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Each man swore to protect the Pope's life by laying down their own, if need be, in an ancient ceremony held every May 6 in commemoration of the death of 147 Swiss Guards, who died while protecting Pope Clement VII in 1527 during the Sack of Rome.

According to Daily Mail, Pope Francis spoke to the new members to say Swiss Guards "are not called to this heroic offering of your physical life, but to another sacrifice no less arduous: to serve, that is, the power of faith."

The men were sworn into the Swiss Guard with an ancient ceremony (EPA).

The new recruits also don helmets with scarlet ostrich plumage as they join the 500-year old army, first created by Pope Julius II in 1506 (EPA).

Swiss Guard Commander Christoph Graf agreed, saying each guard possesses an "indestructible" rosary and stated, "There are two ways of defending the Pope: with weapons and with faith."

Dylan Voirol, a 24-year-old guard who has been a member for 11 months, explained the training is arduous but faith is ultimately the source of his strength. "[There are] moments of physical difficulty...but you get through it with faith."

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Graf explained a specific perk of being a member of the Swiss Guard. He explained, "The Pope greets everyone. It wasn't like that before. [T]he Swiss Guards never spoke to the Pope."

Though the Guard enjoys a more personal relationship with His Holiness, they are also bound to strict guidelines. In fact, applicants are only considered if they are practicing Roman Catholic, Swiss, single, between 19 and 30-years-old and are at least five-foot-seven-inches tall.

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