Why the Swiss Protect the Pope - ABC News ABC News Why the Swiss Protect the Pope By ANN WISE Email Just as it did 500 years ago, the pope's Swiss Guard marched, with quite some fanfare, into Rome today. It was commemorating the 500th anniversary of the establishment of the Swiss Guard, the world's smallest army, by retracing the footsteps of the first 150 Swiss Guards who came to Rome in 1506 at the request of Pope Julius II. About 80 former Swiss Guards, ranging in age from 30 to 76, were met in Rome by city officials, military bands and active Swiss Guards in full uniform. They all marched from downtown Rome to the Vatican, where they received warm greetings and a blessing from Pope Benedict XVI. Today's festive march was just one of a series of celebrations that will culminate with a papal mass and the formal swearing in of new recruits in St. Peter's Square on May 6. Why the Swiss? How did the Swiss come to protect the pope? During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Switzerland earned a reputation for having Europe's most reliable mercenaries -- valorous soldiers who were virtually unbeatable and never switched sides.

Various European royals used small corps of Swiss mercenary soldiers to protect themselves and their palaces. Pope Julius II had admired the Swiss soldiers, who defended the king of France, and he requested a contingent of 200 to serve as his personal bodyguards and to defend his palaces. Only 150 were available at the time, and they arrived in Rome on Jan. 21, 1506, after marching for three months. And they were soon put to the test. During the Sack of Rome on May 6, 1527, 147 Swiss Guards were killed defending Pope Clement VII, who managed to escape to the fortress of Castel Sant' Angelo escorted by the remaining 22 guards. It is in remembrance of this occasion that new recruits are sworn in every year on May 6. Today there are 110 Swiss Guards at the Vatican, recruited from a group of Swiss towns and villages that for centuries have provided soldiers for the popes. But don't let the history and the beautiful Renaissance uniforms fool you.

The Swiss Guard today is a modern force, with important duties within the Vatican -- from forming elaborate ceremonial pickets on special occasions and for distinguished visitors to fulfilling simple desk guard duty at entrances to Vatican City to protecting the pope on foreign travels. And not just anyone can join: You must be Swiss, Catholic, male, tall (at least 5 feet, 9 inches), have an "irreproachable" reputation and have served at least two years in the Swiss army. It is not an occupation for a lifetime, either. Most guards serve from two to three years before returning home to Switzerland. 0 Shares Pope Francis is about to visit a country with a long history of papal assassination attempts — Quartz Adam Pasick January 12, 2015 A cut-out picture of a standee of Pope Francis is surrounded by Filipino army reservist and volunteers during a briefing as part of security preparations for his visit.

(AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Share Adam Pasick January 12, 2015 Pope Francis’s visit to the Philippines this week is going to be a tense one for his Swiss Guard security detail: ISIL allegedly issued a threat to kill the pontiff last year, around the same time that the Filipino Islamic guerrilla group Abu Sayyaf pledged its allegiance to the Islamic extremist group’s cause. What’s more, the country has an unhappy history of assassination attempts on popes. John Paul II was the target of two plots organized by al-Qaeda operations chief Khalid Sheikh Muhammad in the Philippines in 1995 and 1999. A few decades earlier, Paul VI was stabbed on the Manila airport runway by a Bolivian painter in 1970, but escaped with minor injuries. Gregorio Catapang, the head of the Philippines’ military, described an attempt on the pope’s life as “ the biggest security nightmare ” of the government. Francis is expected to make a major speech on climate change during his visit to the world’s largest Catholic country after Brazil and Mexico, which has borne the brunt of exceptionally severe storms in the last few years.

Six million people are expected to attend outdoor mass this Sunday in Manila. As Quartz has reported, some traffic police have been told to wear diapers because of a shortage of portable toilets. In a religious procession on Friday that authorities were treating as a dry run for the mass, one man was trampled to death . The potential ISIL threat to Francis was first raised by Iraq’s minister to the Vatican in October, in response to the pope’s comments that the group must “be stopped.” In his Christmas speech, Francis condemned ISIL’s “brutal persecution” of religious minorities. The Vatican has downplayed the rumors of any ISIL plot and said no additional security measures would be taken. Abu Sayyaf has been conducting a long-running Islamist insurgency in the southern Philippines, and is well-known for kidnapping and ransoming Western hostages. In October, the group threatened to behead an elderly German couple unless it received $5.6 million and the German government withdrew support for the US-led bombing of ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria. An Australian man was arrested in July for recruiting for ISIL among Filipino Muslims . The Philippine government, however, has claimed that Abu Sayyaf is just “ riding the bandwagon” of ISIL .

The “popemobile” for the Manila trip will pay homage to the jeepney, the Philippines’ famous buses. It will be heavily armored but doesn’t have bulletproof glass, which Francis disdains because it is like a “sardine can” that walls him off from followers. #PopeInPH : This is the "popemobile" that will be used by Pope Francis in Philippines pic.twitter.com/N87zPfc7qQ — VaticanCommunication (@PCCS_VA) January 9, 2015 The pope will also be protected by the Philippine military, including two battalions of Filipino UN peacekeepers along with plainclothes officers from the Vatican Swiss Guards. By law Swiss Guards have to be Swiss, Catholic, and male, and are trained to use the halberd, a combination spear and axe . Read full story The Swiss Guard - History The "Helvetians": Not many of the visitors to Rome, who pose for a photograph in front of the Swiss soldiers on guard at the gates of Vatican City, are familiar with the history of these troops who take an oath of loyalty to the Pope.

To know more we must go back to the period of the Renaissance and discover the motives that in 1506 caused Pope Julius II to invite to Rome the Helvetian soldiers, renowned for their courage, noble sentiments and loyalty. Many centuries earlier the great Latin historian, Tacitus, had said: "The Helvetians are a people of warriors, famous for the valour of their soldiers." This is why the Swiss Cantons, as allies first with one side and then with another, played such an important role in the history of European politics. In fact as allies of Pope Julius II in 1512 they helped to shape Italy's destiny and were granted by the Pope the title of "Defenders of the Church's freedom". In those times, when to be a mercenary soldier was a commonplace occupation, there lived a people of warriors in the very heart of the Alps. The first Swiss Cantons had about 500,000 inhabitants and formed an overpopulated country, where, because of the precarious economic conditions of the times, there was much poverty. There was no choice but to emigrate and one of the most profitable jobs was that of a mercenary soldier abroad.

The Swiss Mercenaries: There were some 15,000 men available for this type of work which was "organized" and controlled by the small Confederation of Cantons. The Confederation authorized the enlistment of the men and in return received corn, salt, or other commercial goods. The men themselves regarded this warring as a temporary period of summer emigration. They took part in brief but glorious wars and then returned home with the "pay" and the booty, to spend the winter. They were the best troops of those times. Without cavalry and with little artillery, they had invented a tactic of movement that was superior to all others. Therefore they were in great demand both by France and by Spain. They were similar to a semimobile rampart, standing tall and impenetrable, and it is impossible to understand the Italian Wars without taking these mercenaries into account. Already in the 13th and 14th centuries, after the Swiss Cantons had become independent, many of their men were fighting in Germany and Italy and as the Cantons were unable to prevent this type of emigration, they sought at least to organize it.

The Swiss Mercenaries and France: The alliance with France was the most important and it began with Charles VII in 1453, and was later renewed in 1474 by Louis XI, who had seen for himself near Basle how 1,500 Swiss soldiers had resisted against twenty times as many men. Louis XI hired some of the Confederate soldiers as instructors for the French army and the King of Spain did the same. When, at the end of the 15th century, with Charles VIII the Italian Wars began, the Swiss were described by the Italian historian, Guicciardini, as "the nerve and the hope of an army". In 1495 the life of the King of France was saved thanks to the immovable firmness of his Swiss foot-soldiers. The foreign service of the Confederates was better regulated under the 1521 alliance between France and the Cantons. With it the Swiss agreed to provide from six to sixteen thousand men for the King and in return the Cantons would benefit from the protection of the most powerful European prince.

They became permanent allies and auxiliaries, but the Cantons were still the true sovereigns of the troops and reserved to themselves the right to withdraw them. These armed corps were completely independent, with their own regulations, their own judges and their own flags. The orders were given in their own language, German, by Swiss officers and they remained under the law of their Cantons: in short, the regiment was their fatherland and all these customs were confirmed in similar agreements made in later years. The Swiss Guards in the Vatican: January 22nd, 1506, is the official date of birth of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, because on that day, towards the evening, a group of one hundred and fifty Swiss soldiers commanded by Captain Kasparvon Silenen, of Canton Uri, passed through the Porta del Popolo and entered for the first time the Vatican, where they were blessed by Pope Julius II. The prelate Johann Burchard of Strasï¿½bourg, Master of Pontifical Ceremonies at that time, and author of a famous chronicle, noted the event in his diary.

In actual fact Pope Sixtus IV made a previous alliance in 1497 with the Confederates, which forsaw the possibility of recruiting mercenaries, and he had barracks built for them near where there is, still today, the small Church of St. Pellegrino, in Via Pellegrino in Vatican City. Later, renewing the old pact, Innocent VIII (1484-1492) also desired to make use of them against the Duke of Milan. And Alexander VI also engaged Confederate soldiers during the time of the alliance between the Borgia family and the King of France. While the Borgias were so powerful the so called Italian Wars began in which the Swiss soldiers were always present, in the front line, at times for France, and at others to support the Holy See or the Holy Roman Empire ruled by a German sovereign. When the Swiss mercenaries heard that Charles VIII, King of France, was planning a great expedition against Naples, they flocked to enlist. Towards the end of the year 1494, thousands of them were in Rome, passing through with the French army, which in February of the following year, occupied Naples.

Among the participants in that expedition against Naples, there was also Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, future Pope Julius II, who under Pope Alexander VI had left Italy and gone to France. He was well aquainted with the Swiss, because some twenty years earlier he had been granted as one of many benefices, the Bishopric of Lausanne. A few months later however, Charles VIII was forced to abandon Naples in all haste and he barely succeeded in forcing a blockade and escaping to France. In fact Pope Alexander VI had connected Milan, Venice, the Germanic Empire and Ferdinand the Catholic to form a barrier against the French. The Sack of Rome: On the morning of May 6th, 1527, from his headquarters set up in St. Onofrio's Convent on the Gianicolo hill, Captain General Bourbon launched a series of attacks on Rome. During one of them, at the Torrione Gate, while leading the assault of the walls, he himself was mortally wounded. After just a moment's hesitation, the Spanish mercenaries broke through the Torrione Gate, while the lansquenets invaded the road of Borgo Santo Spirito and St. Peter's.

The Swiss Guard, standing firm at the foot of the obelisk (now in St. Peter's Square, but then near the German cemetery within the Vatican close to the Basilica), together with the few remnants of the Roman troops, resisted desperately. Their Captain, Kaspar Rï¿½ist was wounded, and later killed by the Spaniards in his quarters in front of his wife, Elizabeth Klingler. Of the 189 Swiss Guards, only 42 survived, the ones who, when all was lost, under the command of Hercules Gï¿½ldli guarded Clement VIIï¿½s retreat to safety in Castel Santï¿½Angelo. The rest fell gloriously, massacred together with two hundred fugitives, on the steps of the High Altar in St. Peter's Basilica. Pope Clement VII and his men were able to escape to safety, thanks to the "Passetto", a secret corridor which Pope Alexander VI had built along the top of the wall connectï¿½ing the Vatican with Castel Santï¿½Angelo. The savage horde was in a hurry, for fear that the League troups would cut off their retreat.

Across the Sisto bridge the lansquenets and Spaniards fell on the city and for eight days committed every sort of violence, theft, sacrilege and massacre, even the tombs of the Popes, including that of Julius II, were violated in search of spoils. There were as many as 12 thousand dead and the booty amounted to ten million ducats. All that happened cannot really be regarded with surprise because the imperial army and in particular Frundsberg's lansquenets, were animated by a violent spirit of crusade against the Pope. In front of Castel Santï¿½Angelo where the Pope had retreated, a parody of a religious procession was set up, in which Clement was asked to cede the sails and oars of the "Navicella" (boat of Peter) to Luther, and the angry soldiery shouted "Vivat Lutherus pontifex!" (Long live Luther, Pontiff!) The name of Luther was incised with the tip of a sword across the painting of the "Dispute of the Most Holy Sacrament" in the Rooms of Raffaello, out of disdain, while on another wall a graffito hailed Charles V, emperor.

Concise and exact was the description given by the Prior of the Canons of St. Augustine at that time: "Mali fuere Germani, pejores Itali, Hispani vero pessimi." (The Germans were bad, the Italians were worse, the Spaniards were the worst.) Besides the irreplaceable damage of the destruction of the relics, during the Sack of Rome, inestimable art treasures, namely the greater part of the Church's finest artisan-made gold and silver ware, were lost forever. On June 5th, Clement had to surrender and to accept heavy conditions: he had to cede the fortresses of Ostia, Civitavecchia, and Civita Castellana, to hand over the cities of Modena, Parma and Piacenza, and to pay the sum of four thousand ducats. Moreover, a ransom for the freedom of prisoners was demanded. The papal garrison was replaced by four companies of Germans and Spaniards, and two hundred lansquenets took the place of the Swiss Guard which had been suppressed.

The Pope obtained permission for the surviving Swiss Guards to join the new Guard, but only 12 of them accepted, among them Hans Gutenberg of Chur and Albert Rosin of Zurich. The others wished to have nothing to do with the hated lansquenets. How To Become A Papal Swiss Guard [PHOTOS] How To Become A Papal Swiss Guard [PHOTOS] 03/14/13 AT 10:11 AM Close A child dressed as a Swiss Guard stands in St Peter's Square at the Vatican February 12, 2013. Pope Benedict stunned the Roman Catholic Church on Monday when he announced he would stand down, the first pope to do so in 700 years, saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to carry on. Photo: Reuters/Max Rossi Got a penchant for colorful striped parachute pants and dandy feathered hats ? Are you male, Catholic, Swiss, ages 19-30, at least five feet, 8.5 inches tall (174 cm), and unmarried or otherwise unattached? Have you completed basic military training, and can produce a certificate of good moral conduct?

Do you have a high school diploma or professional degree? Swiss guards stand at the entrance of Pope Benedict XVI's summer residence in Castelgandolfo February 28, 2013. Pope Benedict left the Vatican on Thursday after pledging unconditional obedience to whoever succeeds him to guide the Roman Catholic Church at one of the most crisis-ridden periods in its 2,000-year history. Photo: Reuters/Tony Gentile If those criteria describe you, then you're qualified to become a member of the Papal Swiss Guard, the Vatican’s official army. The requirements have been the same since 1506, the Vatican’s official website said. A Swiss guard adjusts his hat as he waits for the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI to lead a special audience with priests of the Diocese of Rome in Paul VI's hall at the Vatican February 14, 2013. Photo: Reuters/Max Rossi The Swiss have been serving the Vatican since the 1400s. They used to be soldiers-for-hire by states, or potentates, besides the Vatican, but the Swiss government amended the constitution in 1874 so that only the Vatican could rent them out.

It wasn’t until 1970 that the Swiss Guard became the exclusive, official military force of the Vatican. Swiss Guards stands at the entrance of the Vatican, March 1, 2013. With Pope Benedict XVI now officially in retirement, Catholic cardinals from around the world begin on Friday the complex, cryptic and uncertain process of picking the next leader of the world's largest church. Photo: Reuters/Tony Gentile New recruits are sworn in May 6 every year, a day of significance for the Vatican: May 6, 1527, was the Sack of Rome, when the army of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V invaded and ransacked the city. The swearing in takes place in the St. Damaso Courtyard within the Vatican City, and each recruit recites the oath, in either German, English, French or Italian: “I, [name], swear I will observe faithfully, loyally and honorably all that has now been read out to me! May God and his saints assist me!" Swiss guards stand guard in front of the gate where Cardinals arrive to attend a meeting at the Synod Hall in the Vatican, March 7, 2013.

Photo: Reuters/Tony Gentile Related Stories Papal Announcement Text & Background Papal guards are paid a tax-free salary of 15,600 euros annually ($20,200), as well as overtime, room and board. The uniforms, universally recognized, were designed in 1914 and are meant to hark back to the Renaissance. A Swiss Guard is seen during a mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 12, 2013. All cardinals, including those over 80 who will not vote in the conclave, celebrate Mass in St Peter's Basilica to pray for the election of the new pope. The Mass is called "Pro Eligendo Romano Pontefice" ("For the Election of the Roman Pontiff") and is open to the public. Photo: Reuters/Stefano Rellandini While mostly decorative and ceremonial, the Swiss Guards do have an actual function: guarding the pope and the cardinals. After an assassination attempt in 1981 on Pope John Paul II, more focus shifted to the guards and their roles as protectors, and the men began receiving more comprehensive training with small arms and unarmed combat.

Swiss Guards flank the closed doors to the Sistine Chapel as cardinals begin the conclave in order to elect a successor to Pope Benedict at the Vatican March 12, 2013. Shut off from the outside world, the 115 cardinals will cast their ballots in a chapel which has Michelangelo's soaring Last Judgment on one wall, and his depiction of the hand of God giving life to Adam above them. Photo: Reuters/Osservatore Romano A Tour of the Swiss Guards | ITALY Magazine A Tour of the Swiss Guards Natalie Aldern | Monday, March 28, 2011 - 15:10 Located within the heart of Rome sits the smallest country in the world. The population of Vatican City is a mere 831. Most of these residents are priests and nuns, working closely with the head of the Catholic Church, but 22 of the Vatican City citizens are children. That’s because tucked away behind St. Peter’s square, 110 Swiss Guards live with their families within the walls of Vatican City.

Now, an exclusive new tour gives visitors a glimpse of what life is like for the small group of soldiers entrusted with guarding the Pope and the sovereign state. The recognizable Swiss Guards are a modern day mainstay of Vatican City. Their bright uniforms and intimidating halberds make their presence around the Vatican hard to miss. The tradition of Swiss soldiers guarding the Pope began in 1506 when Pope Julius II recruited mercenaries from Switzerland to protect Vatican City. The true test of loyalty came on May 6, 1527 when 147 Swiss soldiers were slain protecting the Pope during the Sack of Rome. The surviving group of 42 guards whisked then-Pontiff Pope Clement VII to safety by making use of the secret passages that connect the Vatican to Castel Sant’Angelo. In commemoration of that courageous battle, new Swiss Guard recruits are always sworn in on May 6th. Taking the oath in May is the last step in the long process of becoming a member of the elite group. New recruits must be between 19 and 30 years old. They must be Roman Catholic Swiss citizens with Swiss military training.

Hopefuls must also be at least 5’7’’ (174 cm) and unmarried. Once joining the ranks, guards serve at least two years, and are welcome to extend their service up to 25 years. The Swiss force guards the Vatican’s four entrances and is charged with ensuring the Pope’s personal safety. The guards work long shifts, round the clock, and so are always close at hand and live in apartments within Vatican City. Normally only open to the guards and their families, a new tour offers a rare opportunity to visit a part of Vatican City traditionally closed to visitors. Roman Empire Tours takes groups through the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel, ending with an exclusive opportunity to explore the Swiss Guard barracks. The tour takes visitors within the quarters of the world’s smallest army. After an introduction, the group moves into the armory to see the uniforms and weapons up close. Legend has it that Michelangelo designed the Swiss Guard uniforms, but the current military dress was actually created in 1914 by Jules Repond. A single uniform is made of 154 pieces and must be custom tailored for each guard, so each suit hanging near the armory will have an individual soldier’s name pinned to it.

The tour of the armory offers a glimpse at the history of Swiss Guard weapons. Visitors will learn about the evolution of arms used by the elite forces. The barracks have a weaponry timeline that features maces, swords and firearms, but today’s Swiss Guards rely more on unarmed combat. After inspecting the traditional armor that is still worn on ceremonial occasions, the group can catch an outside glimpse of where the Pope retires every night. The windows of the Papal apartment and library are clearly visible from within the Guards’ quarters. The tour of the museum and barracks takes approximately four hours and costs €50 per person. The charming Irish guides offer an engaging tour and an uncommon look at the Vatican that few people ever have the chance to experience.

For more information and to book a tour, contact: Protecting the Pope: Insights from a former Swiss Guard | Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views Protecting the Pope: Insights from a former Swiss Guard "If the pope cannot minister to the people, he in a sense ceases to be the pope," says Andreas Widmer, "Thus doing security for a pope is different than doing it for a head of state." September 24, 2015 12:00 EST John Paul Shimek A Swiss Guard is pictured as Pope Francis greets the crowd during an audience with the Italian Tennis Federation in Paul VI hall at the Vatican May 8. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) Andreas Widmer once served as a member of the Vatican’s elite Swiss Guard, protecting Pope St. John Paul II. Today, he teaches business at the Catholic University of America, whose campus was the site yesterday for the Mass of canonization of now-St. Junipero Sera . He is the Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at CUA and President of The Carpenter’s Fund.

His book, The Pope & The CEO: Pope John Paul II’s Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard, explores lessons in leadership that he learned serving as a Swiss Guard and refined during his business career. As Pope Francis continues his visit to the U.S. many are asking questions about his safety and security. With Francis, there’s always the chance that he’ll deviate from his official itinerary or head into the crowd for impromptu meetings among the faithful. Prior to the pope’s visit, I spoke with Widmer about what it’s like to guard the pope. Andreas Widmer ( I think many people probably imagine that Swiss guards are very saintly people. But, is that the reality? Or, are Swiss guards more human who grow closer to Christ and His Church only after living and working in the Vatican? Andreas Widmer: Many Swiss Guard aspirants are attracted to the corps not because of religious reasons but simply because they feel that being a bodyguard is a really cool thing. I know that’s what I felt when I applied. But being in such close contact with the Holy Father and living in the center of Christianity has a profound evangelization effect on many Swiss Guards.

This is of course amplified by being ministered to by the chaplain of the corps. I would say that most of them experience a deep conversion to the Catholic Faith during their service. You met Pope St. John Paul II on your first night on the job one Christmas? What do you recall from that encounter? Widmer: On Christmas Eve, 1986, I was one of the saddest Swiss Guards in the papal palace. Bad enough it was my first Christmas away from home, but because of the assignment I’d drawnguarding the anteroom of the pope’s private apartments in the hours before Midnight MassI wouldn’t even be able to celebrate Christmas with the other guards. All afternoon, my thoughts were with my family in Switzerland. I’d never been away from home for any extended period of time, let alone on Christmas, and as the afternoon wore on, my depression grew. Shortly before I went on duty, I got in line with the other guards to make our calls home. When it was my turn, I spoke to my father first. I did pretty well with him. My voice didn’t crack and my face was expressionless.

I was keenly aware that there was a line of men standing behind me, watching and listening in. Then my father put my mother on the phone. I didn’t stand a chance. She was crying because her “baby” wasn’t home for Christmas and, like most boys, when my mother cries, I cry. I fought it as much as I could and did my best to hide it, but the tears came regardless. After that, I slunk off, put on my uniform, and headed out for my solitary Christmas Eve guarding the papal apartments. It was dark and lonely up there, and there was nothing to do. That meant I had plenty of time to mull over my sadness and think about my family celebrating Christmas without me. I missed them terribly, and as the hours passed I worked myself into a miserable state. At about ten o’clock that evening, I got a call on my radio. An officer informed me that John Paul was leaving to celebrate Midnight Mass and would use my exit. I had just enough time to straighten my uniform before the door opened. A warm light from the apartment flooded my dark post. Then the pope came out. With the backlight and his splendid white robe, he looked like a heavenly vision.

As he came out, he paused about twenty feet from me. He looked at me for some time without saying anything. Then he spoke. “You’re new! What’s your name?” he asked. I told him and he came closer, peering into my reddened eyes. He immediately understood what was going on and said, “This is your first Christmas away from home, isn’t it?” I replied in the affirmative, barely holding back tears as I answered. Yet again, he stepped closer, pausing just inches from me this time. Taking my hand with one hand and holding my elbow with the other, he pulled me slightly toward him, looked at me with his deep gray eyes, and said, “Andreas, I want to thank you for the sacrifice you are making for the Church. I will pray for you during Mass this evening.” What was it like to see the man you protected for so many years declared a saint in Rome? Widmer: It underlines what a saint really is, namely something that we’re all called to become. John Paul II was as normal a person as I’ve ever met, only maybe even more fully human.

I was very happy to be able to be at the canonization in Rome together with my wife and son. Do the Swiss guards follow the pope when he travels abroad? Will some Swiss guards be with the pope this week as he visits Washington, D.C., New York, and Philadelphia? Are those demanding trips for the men who guard the pope? Widmer: Yes, the close up protection of the Holy Father remains one of the key duties of the Swiss Guards, no matter where he is. It’s part of what the Guards do, they’re used to it. Early on in his pontificate, Pope Francis gave his security detail quite a scare. He broke out from under the close scrutiny of his security and took to the streets. There are even stories that Pope Francis sneaks out of the Vatican at night. Did John Paul II do anything like that? What sort of legends and lore about this sort of thing do you recall from your years as a Swiss guard?

Widmer: I read in Cardinal Dziwisz’s book that Saint John Paul and he would go skiing incognito and how a small kid recognized them… telling his parents, “Hey  this is the pope!” … Which they of course waved off as the kid having a lively imagination. He and John Paul then smiled and quickly made it back to the car and left before anyone could ask any questions. I was not aware of that, but I was of course a regular soldier, not an officer, so maybe I was just not privy to that information during my service. I do not know whether Pope Francis left the Vatican the same way. I have my doubts. As you say, such stories are quick to sprout but I think they are mostly just that: wishful thinking… except of course until you find out from the secretary that that one in particular was actually true. Sometimes security at the Vatican looks weak. It is so easy to get close to the person of the pope. Is it a challenge for the Pope and the Swiss guard to balance security and the spirituality of closeness to the people? Widmer: Remember that the papacy is a ministry.

If the pope cannot minister to the people, he in a sense ceases to be the pope. Thus doing security for a pope is different than doing it for a head of state. We were always told that we aim to make the pope as safe as possible without interfering with his ministry. That said, don’t underestimate the level of security. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. I am certain that the pope is very well and effectively protected. When the pope travels aboard what is the usual way the pope's personal security works with the security detail of the host country? Widmer: The host country takes responsibility for the overall security when a foreign head of state visits. That is usual diplomatic protocol. The visiting dignitary brings along a group of bodyguards but the general security is not the visitor’s task. Currently, you teach business at the Catholic University of America. You've even written a book on business leadership filled with lessons learned during your time as a Swiss guard. How does one move from Vatican military life to teaching business? Widmer: Good question! I never thought I’d end up as a professor.

I was an entrepreneur and CEO for many years and am now focused on teaching the next generation of Catholic business leaders. It’s how I feel God wants me to put my experience and to use all the gifts he’s given me in my life. What is the most important lesson you impart to your business students that you've learned from Pope St John Paul II and life as a Swiss guard? Widmer: That business is a noble vocation. When we create, innovate, generate we have the privilege to participate in God’s creative power. We imitate God when we work, God the creator. Thus when we work, we don’t just make more, but we become more. A Swiss Guard recruit takes his oath during the swearing-in ceremony for 32 new guards at the Vatican May 6. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) The Mad Monarchist: Royal Guardians Profile: The Papal Swiss Guard Monday, May 4, 2009 Royal Guardians Profile: The Papal Swiss Guard The Papal State of Vatican City is the smallest sovereign nation in the world and it is protected by the world's smallest army; the Papal Swiss Guard or, as they are officially titled, The Pontifical Helvetian Cohort.

Founded in 1506 they are the longest serving active duty military unit in the world and are charged with guarding the Vatican and the immediate protection of the person of the Pope. Some might view the Papal Swiss Guard in their Renaissance uniforms and armed with halberds as chocolate box soldiers, purely ceremonial, intended to simply add color to grand papal ceremonies. Do not be fooled! The Swiss Guards are a highly trained and extremely motivated elite corps of soldiers who have seen combat more often than one might think. Recruitment standards are extremely high, one must be a Swiss citizen, of a certain age and certain height, of good character and a devout Catholic. Hours are long, the duties are hard and the pay is low; conditions which ensure only the truly committed will volunteer. For many service runs in the family and a number of the guardsmen serving today are descendants of the original Swiss mercenaries first hired by the "Warrior Pope" Julius II centuries ago.

Their greatest moment of military sacrifice (which has become their unit holiday and the day new guardsmen are sworn in) was on May 6, 1527 when 147 of 189 Swiss Guards fought to the death defending Pope Clement VII from invading imperial troops during the infamous Sack of Rome. Their sacrifice allowed the 40 remaining guards to safely escort the Pope to Castel Sant'Angelo. The modern Swiss Guard is a highly trained, elite fighting force. All must have gone through extrensive training with the Swiss Army and after being accepted into the guard they are trained in marksmanship, crowd control and hand-to-hand combat. Their halberds might be their most visible weapons but they have a respectable modern arsenal as well with the latest firearms kept out of sight but close at hand in case of emergencies. Plain-clothes officers of the Guard are around the Pope constantly to guard against assassination attempts and every guardsmen must swear an oath to defend the Pontiff even to the sacrifice of his own life.

In the old days of Renaissance Italy when the Popes often had to fight to maintain their independence from secular powers the Swiss Guards were the hardcore of their armies and the Guard has seen formal battle on occasions ranging from the Napoleonic invasion of the Papal States to the wars for the unification of Italy. Recruited from the German-speaking part of Switzerland this language barrier was once maintained to ensure that clerics in the Vatican could speak freely in their presence without fear of delicate information being passed along. Today, however, guards are immediately taught Italian and most speak a wide variety of languages so as to be able to help tourists visiting Vatican City. The Guard is very proud of the fact that despite many attacks, invasions and assassination attempts (sadly more common now than in centuries past) no Pope under their protection has been killed in all of their 500 years of service. Posted by Swiss Guard | Military Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia It has been suggested that this article be split into articles titled Pontifical Swiss Guard and Talk:Swiss Guard#Split. ( Discuss .) (December 2012) The famous red-black Swiss Gate (Schweizertor) in Vienna.

Swiss Guards are the Swiss soldiers who have served as bodyguards , ceremonial guards, and palace guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century. Apart from household and guard units, regular Swiss mercenary regiments have served as line troops in various armies; notably those of France, Spain and Naples up to the 19th century (see Swiss Mercenaries ). In contemporary usage, the name Swiss Guard generally refers to the Pontifical Swiss Guard of the Holy See. Various units of Swiss Guards existed for hundreds of years. The earliest such unit was the Swiss Hundred Guard (Cent Suisses) at the French court (1497 – 1830). This small force was complemented in 1567 by a Swiss Guards regiment. The Papal Swiss Guard (now located in Vatican City), was founded in 1506 and is the only extant Swiss Guard. In the 18th and early 19th centuries several other Swiss Guards existed for periods in various European courts. The use of Swiss soldiers as Royal guards and as the Pontifical guard stems from the reputation of Swiss mercenaries at the time of their formation. Since Switzerland was a poor country, young men often sought their fortunes abroad.

Having a reputation for discipline and loyalty, and employing revolutionary battle tactics , they were considered the most powerful troops of the 15th century, until their methods were refined by the Landsknechte in the early 16th century. Contents Edit Pioneer of the Swiss Guards in France, 1779 There were two different corps of Swiss mercenaries performing guard duties for the Kings of France: the Hundred Swiss (Cent Suisses), serving within the Palace as essentially bodyguards and ceremonial troops, and the Swiss Guards (Gardes Suisses), guarding the entrances and outer perimeter. In addition the Gardes Suisses served in the field as a fighting regiment in times of war. Hundred Swiss (Cent Suisses) Edit The Hundred Swiss were created in 1480 when Louis XI retained a Swiss company for his personal guard. [1] By 1496 they comprised one hundred guardsmen plus about twenty-seven officers and sergeants. Their main role was the protection of the King within the palace as the garde du dedans du Louvre (the Louvre indoor guard), but in the earlier part of their history they accompanied the King to war.

In the Battle of Pavia (1525) the Hundred Swiss of King Francis I were slain before Francis was captured by the Spanish. The Hundred Swiss shared the indoor guard with the King's Bodyguards ( Garde du Corps ), who were Frenchmen. The Hundred Swiss were armed with halberds , the blade of which carried the Royal arms in gold, as well as gold-hilted swords. Their ceremonial dress as worn until 1789 comprised an elaborate 16th century Swiss costume covered with braiding and livery lace. A less ornate dark blue and red uniform with bearskin headdress was worn for ordinary duties. The Cent Suisses company was disbanded after Louis XVI left Versailles in October 1789. It was however refounded on 15 July 1814 with an establishment of 136 guardsmen and eight officers. The Hundred Swiss accompanied Louis XVIII into exile in Belgium the following year and returned with him to Paris following Waterloo . The unit then resumed its traditional role of palace guards at the Tuileries but in 1817 it was replaced by a new guard company drawn from the French regiments of the Royal Guard.

[2] Swiss Guards (Gardes Suisses) Edit King Francis I of France used some 120,000 Swiss mercenaries in his wars. In 1616, King Louis XIII gave a regiment of Swiss infantry the name of Gardes suisses (Swiss Guards). The new regiment had the primary role of protecting the doors, gates and outer perimeters of the various royal palaces. This unit was officially a regiment of the line, but it was generally regarded as part of the King's Military Household . During the 17th and 18th centuries the Swiss Guards maintained a reputation for discipline and steadiness in both peacetime service and foreign campaigning. Their officers were all Swiss and their rate of pay substantially higher than that of the regular French soldiers. Internal discipline was maintained according to Swiss codes which were significantly harsher than those of the regular French Army. By the 16th century the Swiss Guards were brigaded with the Regiment of French Guards ( Gardes Françaises ), with whom they shared the outer guard, and were in peace-time stationed in barracks on the outskirts of Paris. Like the eleven Swiss regiments of line infantry in French service, the Gardes suisses wore red coats.

The line regiments had black, yellow or light blue facings but the Swiss Guards were distinguished by dark blue lapels and cuffs edged in white embroidery. Only the grenadier company wore bearskins while the other companies wore the standard tricorn headdress of the French infantry. The Guards were recruited from all the Swiss cantons. The nominal establishment was 1,600 men though actual numbers normally seem to have been below this. The Swiss Guard being brought to the Guillotine During the Revolution Edit The most famous episode in the history of the Swiss Guards was their defence of the Tuileries Palace in central Paris during the French Revolution . Of the nine hundred Swiss Guards defending the Palace on August 10, 1792 , about six hundred were killed during the fighting or massacred after surrender. One group of sixty Swiss were taken as prisoners to the Paris City Hall before being killed by the crowd there. [3] An estimated hundred and sixty more died in prison of their wounds, or were killed during the September Massacres that followed.

Apart from less than a hundred Swiss who escaped from the Tuileries, some hidden by sympathetic Parisians, the only survivors of the regiment were a three-hundred-strong detachment that had been sent to Normandy to escort grain convoys a few days before August 10th . [4] The Swiss officers were mostly amongst those massacred, although Major Karl Josef von Bachmann in command at the Tuileries was formally tried and guillotined in September, still wearing his red uniform coat. Two Swiss officers, the captains Henri de Salis and Joseph Zimmermann, did however survive and went on to reach senior rank under Napoleon and the Restoration. There appears to be no truth in the charge that Louis XVI caused the defeat and destruction of the Guards by ordering them to lay down their arms when they could still have held the Tuileries. Rather, the Swiss ran low on ammunition and were overwhelmed by superior numbers when fighting broke out spontaneously after the Royal Family had been escorted from the Palace to take refuge with the National Assembly of France . A note has survived written by the King ordering the Swiss to retire from the Palace and return to their barracks but this was only acted on after their position had become untenable.

The regimental standards had been secretly buried by the adjutant shortly before the regiment was summoned to the Tuileries on the night of 8/9 August, indicating that the likely end was foreseen. They were discovered by a gardener and ceremoniously burned by the new Republican authorities. The barracks of the Guard at Courbevoie were stormed by the local National Guard and the few Swiss still on duty there also killed. The Lion Monument in Lucerne. The incised Latin may be translated, To the loyalty and courage of the Swiss. The heroic but futile stand of the Swiss is commemorated by Bertel Thorvaldsen 's Lion Monument in Lucerne, dedicated in 1821, which shows a dying lion collapsed upon broken symbols of the French monarchy. An inscription on the monument lists the twenty-six Swiss officers who died on 10 August and 2–3 September 1792, and records that approximately 760 Swiss Guardsmen were killed on those days. Following the Restoration Edit The French Revolution abolished mercenary troops in its citizen army, but Napoleon I and the Restoration Monarchy both made use of Swiss troops. Four Swiss infantry regiments were employed by Napoleon, serving in both Spain and Russia.

Two of the eight infantry regiments included in the Garde Royale from 1815 to 1830 were Swiss and can be regarded as successors of the old Gardes suisses. When the Tuileries was stormed again, in the July Revolution (July 29, 1830), the Swiss regiments, fearful of another massacre, were withdrawn or melted into the crowd. They were not used again. In 1831 disbanded veterans of the Swiss regiments and another foreign unit, the Hohenlohe Regiment , were recruited into the newly raised French Foreign Legion for service in Algeria. In other European states Edit Franz Rudolf Frisching , Colonel of the Swiss Guards in the Netherlands, painted by Jean Preudhomme in 1785 Swiss Guard units similar to those of France were in existence at several other Royal Courts at the dates indicated below: From 1579 on, a Swiss Guard served the House of Savoy, rulers of Savoy and later the Kingdom of Sardinia. The Guard was dissolved in 1798. From 1696 to 1713, a Swiss Guard served at the court of Frederick I of Prussia .

a Swiss Guard also existed in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany during the 18th century. a Cent-Suisse unit was in existence from 1730 until 1757 and again from 1763 to 1814 in the Kingdom of Saxony. a similar unit existed from 1734 until 1789 in the Kingdom of Naples. Swiss line infantry regiments continued to serve in the Neapolitan Army until the 1860s. From 1748 until 1796, a company of Swiss (Cent-Suisses) served as a personal guard for the Stadhouder of the Dutch Republic; besides a Dutch Guard Regiment, there was also a Swiss Guard Regiment. William I, the King of the Netherlands, incorporated four regiments of Swiss infantry in the new Dutch Army between 1814 and 1829, of which the 4th (Regiment Swiss nr. 32) served as Guard Infantry, until the Swiss regiments were disbanded and new official Guard Regiments of Grenadiers and Jagers were raised.

For a brief time (1748–1767) during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa (reigned 1740–1780), approximately 250 to 450 soldiers from Switzerland guarded the Hofburg , the winter palace in Vienna. They replaced previous military units that had performed that duty, and were later replaced by others. The oldest courtyard of the palace is still called the "Swiss Court" (Schweizerhof) in acknowledgement of their 20-year presence. In Portugal , a Swiss regiment was raised by the Count of Lippe on June 12, 1762. It comprised two battalions (commanded by Colonel Gabriel Thorman and Colonel Marcus Saussure) of 809 men each, consisting of four companies of Swiss troops plus four non-Swiss companies, for a total of 1618 men. Enlistment was for six years, and the soldiers could not be required to serve at sea. Half the soldiers had to be Swiss, while the other half could be made up of Germans and Hungarians.

The Portuguese government paid the sum of 2,960,000 reis to raise, arm and equip these two battalions. Colonels paid for their officers. Each soldier earned 4,537 reis per month plus a daily ration of bread. On June 22, 1763, Colonel Gabriel Thorman was sentenced to imprisonment until he returned funds and property embezzled from his regiment, while Colonel Marcus Saussure was sentenced to death for desertion. The regiment was disbanded on 17 September 1763 by a decree that also ordered the raising of a new Swiss regiment (the "Reais Estrangeiros" or "Royal Foreigners"), which met a similar fate to its predecessor. Its eight companies comprised ninety soldiers each, plus the superior and inferior officers. It was ordered dissolved in 1765, and its commander, Colonel Luiz Henrique Graveson, condemned by a council of war to death by hanging. This sentence was commuted to a firing-squad , and the execution was carried out on November 15, 1765, in Campo de Ourique, on January 2, 1766.

Swiss constitutional prohibition Edit The Swiss constitution , as amended in 1874, forbade all military capitulations and recruitment of Swiss by foreign powers, although volunteering in foreign armies continued until prohibited outright, in 1927. The Papal Swiss Guard (see below) remains an exception to this prohibition, reflecting the unique political status of the Vatican and the bodyguard-like role of the unit. Pontifical Swiss Guard Papal Swiss Guard in uniform The Pontifical Swiss Guard (German language: Päpstliche Schweizergarde; Italian language: Guardia Svizzera Pontificia Latin Pontificia Cohors Helvetica or Cohors Pedestris Helvetiorum a Sacra Custodia Pontificis) is an exception to the Swiss rulings of 1874 and 1927. A small force maintained by the Holy See, it is responsible for the safety of the Pope, including the security of the Apostolic Palace . The Swiss Guard serves as the de facto military of Vatican City . History Edit The Pontifical Swiss Guard has its origins in the 15th century.

Pope Sixtus IV (1471–1484) already made a previous alliance with the Swiss Confederation and built barracks in Via Pellegrino after foreseeing the possibility of recruiting Swiss mercenaries. The pact was renewed by Innocent VIII (1484–1492) in order to use them against the Duke of Milan. Alexander VI (1492–1503) later actually used the Swiss mercenaries during their alliance with the King of France. During the time of the Borgias , however, the Italian Wars began in which the Swiss mercenaries were a fixture in the front lines among the warring factions, sometimes for France and sometimes for the Holy See or the Holy Roman Empire . The mercenaries enlisted when they heard King Charles VIII of France was going to war with Naples. Among the participants in the war against Naples was Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere , the future Pope Julius II (1503–1513), who was well acquainted with the Swiss having been Bishop of Lausanne years earlier. The expedition failed in part thanks to new alliances made by Alexander VI against the French.

When Cardinal della Rovere became Pope Julius II in 1503, he asked the Swiss Diet to provide him with a constant corps of 200 Swiss mercenaries. In September 1505, the first contingent of 150 soldiers started their march towards Rome, under the command of Kaspar von Silenen , and entered the city on January 22, 1506, today given as the official date of the Guard's foundation. "The Swiss see the sad situation of the Church of God, Mother of Christianity, and realize how grave and dangerous it is that any tyrant, avid for wealth, can assault with impunity, the common Mother of Christianity," declared Huldrych Zwingli , a Swiss Catholic who later became a Protestant reformer. Pope Julius II later granted them the title "Defenders of the Church's freedom". [5] The force has varied greatly in size over the years and has even been disbanded.

Its first, and most significant, hostile engagement was on May 6, 1527, when 147 of the 189 Guards, including their commander, died fighting the troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in the stand of the Swiss Guard during the Sack of Rome in order to allow Clement VII to escape through the Passetto di Borgo , escorted by the other 40 guards. The last stand battlefield is located on the left side of St Peter's Basilica , close to the Campo Santo Teutonico (German Graveyard). The Pontifical Swiss Guard has served the popes since the 16th century. Ceremonially, they shared duties in the Papal household with the Palatine Guard and Noble Guard , both of which were disbanded in 1970 under Paul VI . Today the Papal Swiss Guard have taken over the ceremonial roles of the former units. At the end of 2005, there were 135 members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard.

This number consisted of a Commandant (bearing the rank of oberst or Colonel ), a chaplain , three officers, one sergeant major (feldwebel), 30 NCOs , and 99 halberdiers, the rank equivalent to private (so called because of their traditional Halberd ). Recruitment and service Edit Members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard at the Bronze Door in Vatican City Recruits to the guards must be Catholic, single males with Swiss citizenship who have completed basic training with the Swiss military and can obtain certificates of good conduct. Recruits must have a professional degree or high school diploma and must be between 19 and 30 years of age and at least 174 cm (5 ft 8.5 in) tall. [6] In 2009, the Pontifical Swiss Guard commandant, Daniel Anrig, suggested that the Guard might someday be open to recruiting women, but he added that the admission of female recruits remained far in the future. [7] Qualified candidates must apply to serve.

If accepted, new guards are sworn on May 6 every year in the San Damaso Courtyard (Italian language: Cortile di San Damaso ) in the Vatican (May 6 is the anniversary of the Sack of Rome ). The chaplain of the guard reads aloud the oath in the language of the guard (mostly German): [8] [9] (German version) "Ich schwöre, treu, redlich und ehrenhaft zu dienen dem regierenden Papst Franziskus und seinen rechtmäßigen Nachfolgern, und mich mit ganzer Kraft für sie einzusetzen, bereit, wenn es erheischt sein sollte, selbst mein Leben für sie hinzugeben. Ich übernehme dieselbe Verpflichtung gegenüber dem Heiligen Kollegium der Kardinäle während der Sedisvakanz des Apostolischen Stuhls. Ich verspreche überdies dem Herrn Kommandanten und meinen übrigen Vorgesetzten Achtung, Treue und Gehorsam.

Ich schwöre, alles das zu beobachten, was die Ehre meines Standes von mir verlangt." [10] (Italian version) "Giuro di servire fedelmente, lealmente e onorevolmente il Sommo Pontefice Francesco e i suoi legittimi successori, come pure di dedicarmi a loro con tutte le forze, sacrificando, ove occorra, anche la vita per la loro difesa. Assumo del pari questi impegni riguardo al Sacro Collegio dei Cardinali per la durata della Sede vacante. Prometto inoltre al Capitano Comandante e agli altri miei Superiori rispetto, fedeltà e ubbidienza. Lo giuro. Che Iddio e i nostri Santi Patroni mi assistano." [10] (French version) "Je jure de servir avec fidélité, loyauté et honneur le Souverain Pontife François et ses légitimes successeurs, ainsi que de me consacrer à eux de toutes mes forces, offrant, si cela est nécessaire, ma vie pour leur défense.

J’assume également ces engagements à l’égard du Sacré Collège des cardinaux pendant la vacance du Siège apostolique. Je promets en outre au commandant et aux autres supérieurs respect, fidélité et obéissance. Je jure d'observer tout ce que l'honneur exige de mon état." [10] (English version) "I swear I will faithfully, loyally and honourably serve the Supreme Pontiff Francis and his legitimate successors, and also dedicate myself to them with all my strength, sacrificing if necessary also my life to defend them. I assume this same commitment with regard to the Sacred College of Cardinals whenever the see is vacant . Furthermore I promise to the Commanding Captain and my other superiors, respect, fidelity and obedience. This I swear! May God and our Holy Patrons assist me!" [8] When his name is called, each new guard approaches the Pontifical Swiss Guard's flag , grasping the banner in his left hand.

He raises his right hand with his thumb, index, and middle finger extended along three axes, a gesture that symbolizes the Holy Trinity , and speaks: (German version) "Ich, [name of the new guard], schwöre, alles das, was mir soeben vorgelesen wurde, gewissenhaft und treu zu halten, so wahr mir Gott und seine Heiligen helfen." [10] (Italian version) "Io, [name of the new guard], giuro di osservare fedelmente, lealmente e onorevolmente tutto ciò che in questo momento mi è stato letto. Che Dio e i suoi santi patroni mi assistano." [10] (French version) "Moi, [name of the new guard], je jure d'observer loyalement et de bonne foi tout ce qui vient de m'être lu.

Aussi vrai que Dieu et nos Saints Patrons m’assistent." [10] (English version) "I, [name of the new guard], swear diligently and faithfully to abide by all that has just been read out to me, so grant me God and so help me his Saints." [8] The term of service is between 2 and 25 years. Conditions of service Vatican Time Line Chronological Timetable of Events - Worldatlas.com (30-64) Peter served as the first pope (326) Emperor Constantine built Basilica over St. Peter's tomb (590 - 604) Pope Gregory established popes as de facto rules of central Italy 1400s (1451) Vatican Library was established (1475) Pope Sixtus IV built Sistine Chapel, Sixtus Bridge over the Tiber River (1499) Michelangelo completed the Pieta for the Vatican 1500s (1506) First contingent of Swiss Guards arrived to protect Pope and Vatican (1506) Work began on new St.

Peter's Basilica (1508) Michelangelo began painting Sistine chapel ceiling in Rome (1512) Michelangelo finished the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (1521) Martin Luther excommunicated from Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X (1522) Adrian VI elected Pope, the last non-Italian Pope until John Paul II (1527) German, Spanish troops sacked Rome, Pope Clement VII captured, thousands killed, 147 of 189 Swiss Guards were killed (1533) Pope Clement VII excommunicated King Henry VIII from Catholic Church following divorce; Henry VIII became head of Church of England (1541) Michelangelo's Last Judgment on altar wall of Sistine Chapel unveiled (1546) Michelangelo put in charge of restoration of St. Peter's Basilica by Pope Paul III, designed St. Peter's dome 1600s – 1800s (1626) St. Peter's Cathedral consecrated (1773) Pope Clement XIV abolished Jesuit order (1823) St. Peter's Basilica destroyed by fire (1825) St.

Peter's Basilica reconstructed in time for Holy Year (1846) Church owned Papal states and parts of Rome, Pope Pius IX crowned (1849) Italy declared a Republic, headed by revolutionary leader Giuseppe Mazzini (1870) Italy completed the takeover of the Papal lands, led to unification of Italy; first Vatican council established; dogma of papal infallibility proclaimed (1871) Under Italian law, temporal power of the pope abrogated, the territory of the papacy confined to the Vatican and Lateran palaces and the Villa of Castel Gandolfo; Popes refused to recognize arrangement 1900s (1929) Lateran Treaty established the independent state of the Vatican City, granted Roman Catholicism special status in Italy, Vatican City became smallest nation in the world, under the jurisdiction of the Pope (1930) Vatican City's railway station opened, used mostly for freight (1943) German troops occupied Rome, took over protection of Vatican City 1900s continued (1943-1944) Vatican City stayed neutral during WWII (1962) Ecumenical Council Vatican II

, opened by John XXIII, set policies in place for the modernization of the Roman Catholic Church (1978) Pope John Paul II became first non-Italian Pope since Renaissance (1981) Assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II in Vatican City by a Turkish man (1984) After 117 years, USA and Vatican established full diplomatic relations (1998) Pope's top bodyguard and wife shot and killed in their apartment 2000s (2001) Pope John Paul II installed 44 new cardinals, the largest number ever installed at one time (2001) Pontifical Committee for Vatican City State established that the president was also head of the Governorate of the State of the Vatican City (2003) John Paul II celebrated 25th anniversary (2003) Mother Teresa beatified by Pope John Paul II (2005) Pope John Paul II died at the age of 84 (2005) Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany became Pope Benedict XVI (2007) Vatican engineers announced some Holy See buildings would begin using solar energy (2009) Vatican said it would spend

 $660 million on new solar plant, largest in Europe, on 740 acres of land north of Rome (2009) Vatican Radio began airing advertisements for the first time in its 80-year history (2009) Vatican reported its third straight annual financial loss (2011) Pope Benedict XVI promulgated a new law concerning citizenship, residency and access to Vatican City, replaced the 1929 law (2011) Pope Benedict XVI beatified John Paul II (2011) Vatican reported a profit for 2010 (2011) Benedict XVI sent out first Tweet message See Also 10 Things You May Not Know About the Vatican - History in the Headlines 10 Things You May Not Know About the Vatican March 12, 2013 By Christopher Klein Share Did you know the Vatican is the smallest nation-state in the world?

Get all the facts and figures. Share this: 10 Things You May Not Know About the Vatican Author 10 Things You May Not Know About the Vatican URL Did you know that popes did not begin to live at the Vatican until the 14th century? Explore 10 things you may not know about the seat of the Catholic Church. 1. Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. Encircled by a 2-mile border with Italy, Vatican City is an independent city-state that covers just over 100 acres, making it one-eighth the size of New York’s Central Park. Vatican City is governed as an absolute monarchy with the pope at its head. The Vatican mints its own euros, prints its own stamps, issues passports and license plates, operates media outlets and has its own flag and anthem. One government function it lacks: taxation. Museum admission fees, stamp and souvenir sales, and contributions generate the Vatican’s revenue. 2. St. Peter’s Basilica sits atop a city of the dead, including its namesake’s tomb. A Roman necropolis stood on Vatican Hill in pagan times. When a great fire leveled much of Rome in A.D.

64, Emperor Nero, seeking to shift blame from himself, accused the Christians of starting the blaze. He executed them by burning them at the stake, tearing them apart with wild beasts and crucifying them. Among those crucified was St. Peter—disciple of Jesus Christ, leader of the Apostles and the first bishop of Rome—who was supposedly buried in a shallow grave on Vatican Hill. By the fourth century and official recognition of the Christian religion in Rome, Emperor Constantine began construction of the original basilica atop the ancient burial ground with what was believed to be the tomb of St. Peter at its center. The present basilica, built starting in the 1500s, sits over a maze of catacombs and St. Peter’s suspected grave. Obelisk in St. Peter’s Square. (KevinAlexanderGeorge/iStockphoto.com) 3. Caligula captured the obelisk that stands in St. Peter’s Square. Roman Emperor Caligula built a small circus in his mother’s gardens at the base of Vatican Hill where charioteers trained and where Nero is thought to have martyred the Christians.

To crown the center of the amphitheater, Caligula had his forces transport from Egypt a pylon that had originally stood in Heliopolis. The obelisk, made of a single piece of red granite weighing more than 350 tons, was erected for an Egyptian pharaoh more than 3,000 years ago. In 1586 it was moved to its present location in St. Peter’s Square, where it does double duty as a giant sundial. 4. For nearly 60 years in the 1800s and 1900s, popes refused to leave the Vatican. Popes ruled over a collection of sovereign Papal States throughout central Italy until the country was unified in 1870. The new secular government had seized all the land of the Papal States with the exception of the small patch of the Vatican, and a cold war of sorts then broke out between the church and the Italian government. Popes refused to recognize the authority of the Kingdom of Italy, and the Vatican remained beyond Italian national control.

Pope Pius IX proclaimed himself a “prisoner of the Vatican,” and for almost 60 years popes refused to leave the Vatican and submit to the authority of the Italian government. When Italian troops were present in St. Peter’s Square, popes even refused to give blessings or appear from the balcony overlooking the public space. 5. Benito Mussolini signed Vatican City into existence. The dispute between the Italian government and the Catholic Church ended in 1929 with the signing of the Lateran Pacts, which allowed the Vatican to exist as its own sovereign state and compensated the church $92 million (more than $1 billion in today’s money) for the Papal States. The Vatican used the payment as seed money to re-grow its coffers. Mussolini, the head of the Italian government, signed the treaty on behalf of King Victor Emmanuel III. 6. Popes did not live at the Vatican until the 14th century. Even after the construction of the original St. Peter’s Basilica, popes lived principally at the Lateran Palace across Rome.

They even left the city altogether in 1309 when the papal court moved to Avignon, France, after King Philip IV arranged for a French cardinal to be elected pope. Seven popes, all French, ruled from Avignon, and the papacy did not return to Rome until 1377, by which time the Lateran Palace had burned and the Vatican started to be used as a papal residence. Much repair work needed to be done, however, because the Vatican had fallen into such disrepair that wolves dug for bodies in the cemetery and cows even wandered the basilica. Members of the Swiss Guard in Vatican City. (apomares/iStockphoto.com) 7. The Swiss Guard was hired as a mercenary force. The Swiss Guard, recognizable by its armor and colorful Renaissance-era uniforms, has been protecting the pontiff since 1506. That’s when Pope Julius II, following in the footsteps of many European courts of the time, hired one of the Swiss mercenary forces for his personal protection. The Swiss Guard’s role in Vatican City is strictly to protect the safety of the pope. Although the world’s smallest standing army appears to be strictly ceremonial, its soldiers are extensively trained and highly skilled marksmen.

And, yes, the force is entirely comprised of Swiss citizens. 8. At several times during the Vatican’s history, popes escaped through a secret passageway. In 1277, a half-mile-long elevated covered passageway, the Passetto di Borgo, was constructed to link the Vatican with the fortified Castel Sant’Angelo on the banks of the Tiber River. It served as an escape route for popes, most notably in 1527 when it likely saved the life of Pope Clement VII during the sack of Rome. As the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V rampaged through the city and murdered priests and nuns, the Swiss Guard held back the enemy long enough to allow Clement to safely reach the Castel Sant’Angelo, although 147 of the pope’s forces lost their lives in the battle. 9. The majority of Vatican City’s 600 citizens live abroad. As of 2011, the number of people with Vatican citizenship totaled 594. That number included 71 cardinals, 109 members of the Swiss Guard, 51 members of the clergy and one nun inside the Vatican walls.

The largest group of citizens, however, was the 307 members of the clergy in diplomatic positions around the world. With Benedict XVI residing as a pope emeritus in the Vatican, the population will increase by one when a new pope is named. 10. The Vatican Observatory owns a telescope in Arizona. As Rome expanded, light pollution from the city made it increasingly difficult for astronomers at the Vatican Observatory—located 15 miles from the city at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo—to view the night skies, so in 1981 the observatory opened a second research center in Tucson, Arizona. The Vatican conducts astronomical research with a state-of-the-art telescope that sits atop Mount Graham in southeast Arizona. Tags

Question: In which country are the Papal guards recruited?
Answer: Switzerland