Vatican Royal Guard

**The Vatican Royal Guard is one of the Branches of the Armed Forces and is Subdivided into 3 Regiments, The Pontifical Vatican Guard, The Custodians of the Tower of Rome and The Guardians of Rome, They are in charge of taking care of the palaces and The most important buildings in the country, were regrouped into a single branch in 1835 by Queen Margarita III of Savoy so that they were commanded by a single commander and not by many, although each regiment has its own autonomy**

# ***The Pontifical Vatican Guard***

**It is a Regiment of the Vatican Royal Guard and they are in charge of the security of the most important churches in Rome including the Holy See, they are also in charge of the security of the Head of the Catholic Church, it was created on November 15, 1445 by the need to protect Pope Eugene IV and approved by King Alessio I of Platoni, in 2019 there were 750 Active Guards and 50 in Reserve.**

# ***Relevant Data***

**Active: November 15, 1445**

**Type: Royal Guard**

**Size: 800 Guards**

**Part of the Vatican Royal Guard**

**Barracks: Piazza San Pietro**

**Commander: Captain Narciso Fiorentino**

**Motto: I promise to Serve and Protect the Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ and Successor of Saint Peter with my Life**

# ***Mission***

**-Serve and Protect the Head of the Catholic Church**

**-Protect the Papal Palace**

**-Protect and Safeguard the Churches of Rome**

# ***Organization***

**The Pontifical Vatican Guard currently consists of 8 Companies which are distributed throughout Rome protecting the Successor of Saint Peter and the most important Churches and Basilicas of the City**

# ***Ranks (From Low to High)***

**-Recruit**

**-Soldier**

**-Cape**

**-Squad Chief**

**-Sergeant**

**-Ensign**

**-Commander**

# ***Weapons***

### ***Pistols***

**-Beretta 92: General Use (Each Guard has one)**

### ***Assault rifles***

**-Beretta ARX-160: Limited Use (Only Guards Surrounding the Pope have one)**

### ***Precision Rifle***

**-M40 Rifle: Exclusive Use (Protecting the Pope and the Holy See)**

# **Vehicles**

**-Land Cruiser Prado: Exclusive Vehicle of the Pontifical Escort - 60 UNITS**

**-Mercedes-Benz W221: Exclusive Vehicle for the Pope - 4 UNITS**

**-Mercedes-Benz G-Class: Papamovil - 10 UNITS**

# ***Aircraft***

### ***Helicopters***

**-AW119 Koala: Surveillance Helicopter - 12 UNITS**

**-Bell 427: Ambulance Helicopter - 8 UNITS**

**-AgustaWestland AW109: Papal Helicopter - 3 UNITS**

# ***The Custodians of the Tower of Rome***

**It is a regiment of the Vatican Royal Guard and they are in charge of protecting the Tower of Rome, the Crown Jewels and the State Treasures, It was created on December 3, 1901 by order of King Alfred I of Savoy by the need to someone to protect this building with the jewels and state treasures, in 2019 there are 103 Active Custodians and 10 in Reserve.**

### ***Relevant Data***

**Active: December 3, 1901**

**Type: Royal Guard**

**Size: 113 Custodians**

**Part of the Vatican Royal Guard**

**Barracks: Tower of Rome**

**Commander: Major Ermenegildo Castiglione**

**Motto: With Blood and Sweat we will defen**d the beloved Tower of Rome

# ***Mission***

**-Protect the Tower of Rome**

**-Protect the Crown Jewels**

**-Safeguard state treasures**

# ***Organization***

**The Custodians are currently made up of 5 Platoons, 3 distributed throughout the Tower and its surroundings, one of them in the Hall of Treasures and another in the Jewels of the Vatican Crown.**

# ***Ranks (From Low to High)***

**-Soldier**

**-NCO**

**-Cape First**

**-Sergeant**

**-Lieutenant**

**-Higher**

# ***Weapons***

### ***Revolvers***

**-S & W Model 500: General Purpose (Everyone has one)**

### ***Assault rifle***

**-ShAK-12: General Use (Everyone has one)**

### ***Shotguns***

**-Benelli M4 Super 90: Exclusive Use (There are only 25 people with it)**

### ***Precision Rifle***

**-Chevy TAC M-200 Intervention: Exclusive Use (Used to defend jewelry)**

# ***Vehicles***

**-chevy tahoe: Patrol and Transportation - 30 UNITS**

**-Hunter TR-12: Transport of Jewels and Treasures - 5 UNITS**

# ***Aircraft***

### ***Helicopters***

**-Sikorsky S-92: Air Transport of Jewels and Treasures -3 UNITS**

# ***The Guardians of Rome***

**It is one of the Regiments of the Vatican Royal Guard and they are in charge of the protection of the royal palaces, the seat of Parliament, the National Bank among other buildings of great importance, the guardians of Rome not only protect Rome if not all buildings important government buildings and all the Palaces, Castles and residences of the Vatican Royal Family. It was created on September 17, 1170 by order of King Louis I of Platoni to take care of the Castles of the Kingdom, in 2019 there were 3,000 Guardians of Rome and 500 in Reserve.**

# ***Relevant Data***

**Active: September 17, 1170**

**Type: Royal Guard**

**Size: 3.500 Guards**

**Part of the Vatican Royal Guard**

**Barracks: Santa Catalina Palace**

**Colonel-in-Chief: Francisco I**

**Commander: Brigadier General Baldo Lombardo**

**Motto: God Save the King**

# ***Mission***

**-Defend the Important Buildings of Rome**

**-Safeguard the Palaces of the Kingdom**

**-Protect the Royal Palace of Rome**

# ***Organization***

**The Guardians of Rome are divided into 10 battalions in the 5 main cities and these 10 battalions are divided into 6 Sections per city, most of the battalions are in Rome Protecting the Royal Palace of Rome.**

# ***Ranks (From Low to High)***

**-Guardian Recruit**

**-Guardian Third**

**-Second Guardian**

**-Guardian First**

**-Chief Guardian**

**-Guardian Lieutenant**

**-Guardian Mayor**

**-Guardian Brigadier General**