Swiss Guard
Pontifical Swiss Guard | ||
---|---|---|
Pontificia Cohors Helvetica ( | ||
Active | 1506–1527 1548–1798 1800–1809 1814–present[2] | |
Country |
| |
Allegiance | Honour guard | |
Size | 135 men | |
Garrison/HQ | Vatican City | |
Patron | ||
Motto(s) | Acriter et Fideliter "Fiercely and Faithfully" | |
Colors | Red, yellow & blue | |
Anniversaries | 6 May[2] | |
Engagements | ||
Commanders | ||
Commander-in-chief | Commander Christoph Graf | |
Vice commander | Loïc Marc Rossier |
The Pontifical Swiss Guard (also Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard;
The dress uniform is of blue, red, orange and yellow with a distinctly
Recruits to the guards must be unmarried
The unit's security mission is complemented by the Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City.
History
Italian wars
The Pontifical Swiss Guard has its origins in the 15th century.
The expedition failed, in part thanks to new alliances made by
In September 1505, the first contingent of 150 soldiers set off on march to Rome, under the command of Kaspar von Silenen, and entered the city on 22 January 1506, now regarded as the official date of the Guard's foundation.[7][8]
"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 the Swiss
The force has varied greatly in size over the years and on occasion has been disbanded and reconstituted. Its most significant hostile engagement was on 6 May 1527, when 147 of the 189 Guards, including their commander
Early modern history
After the
The office of commander of the Papal Guard came to be a special honour in the Catholic region of the
In 1798, commander Franz Alois Pfyffer von Altishofen went into exile with the deposed
Modern history
The guard was disbanded yet again
After the Piedmontese invasion of Rome, the Swiss Guard declined in the later 19th century into a purely ceremonial body with low standards. Guards on duty at the Vatican were "Swiss" only in name, mostly born in Rome to parents of Swiss descent and speaking the Roman dialect. The guards were trained solely for ceremonial parade, kept only a few obsolete rifles in store and wore civilian dress when drilling or in barracks. Administration, accommodation, discipline and organization were neglected and the unit numbered only about 90 men out of an authorized establishment of 133.[13]
The modern Swiss Guard is the product of the reforms pursued by Jules Repond, commander during the years 1910–1921. Repond proposed recruiting only native citizens of Switzerland and he introduced rigorous military exercises. He also attempted to introduce modern arms, but Pius X only permitted the presence of firearms if they were not functional. Repond's reforms and strict discipline were not well received by the corps, culminating in a week of open mutiny in July 1913, and the subsequent dismissal of thirteen ringleaders from the guard.[14]
In his project to restore the Swiss Guard to its former prestige, Repond also dedicated himself to the study of historical costume, with the aim of designing a new uniform that would be both reflective of the historical Swiss costume of the 16th century and suited for military exercise. The result of his studies was published as Le costume de la Garde suisse pontificale et la Renaissance italienne (1917). Repond designed the distinctive Renaissance-style uniforms still worn by the modern Swiss Guard. The introduction of the new uniforms was completed in May 1914.
The foundation of
Since the
On 4 May 1998 commander Alois Estermann was murdered on the day of his promotion. Estermann and his wife, Gladys Meza Romero, were killed by the young guardsman Cédric Tornay, who later committed suicide. The case received considerable public attention and became the subject of a number of conspiracy theories alleging Cold War politics or involvement by the Opus Dei prelature. British journalist John Follain, who published a book on the case in 2006, concluded that the killer acted purely out of personal motives.[17]
On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Swiss Guard, in April–May 2006, 80 former guardsmen marched from Bellinzona in southern Switzerland to Rome, recalling the march of the original 200 Swiss guards to take up Papal service, in 1505. The march had been preceded by other celebrations in Lucerne, including a rally of veterans of the Guard and a Mass.[18] In a public ceremony on 6 May 2006, 33 new guards were sworn in on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica instead of the traditional venue in the San Damaso Courtyard. The date chosen marked the anniversary of the Sack of Rome when the Swiss Guard had been nearly destroyed. Present at this event were representatives of the Company of Pikemen and Musketeers of the Honourable Artillery Company of London and the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts.
In December 2014, Pope Francis directed that Daniel Anrig's term as commander should end on 31 January 2015, and that he be succeeded by his deputy Christoph Graf. This followed reports about Anrig's "authoritarian style".[19]
With the rise of
In October 2019 the Swiss Guard reached a total personnel of 135.
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A member of the Swiss Guard during the reign ofPius VII, c. 1811, by Hortense Haudebourt-Lescot
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Kneeling salute in Clementine Hall (1937)
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Marching in exercise uniform with Gewehr 98 rifles (1938)
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A member of the Pontifical Swiss Guard with halberd (2011)
Recruitment and service
Recruits to the guards must be
Qualified candidates must apply to serve. If accepted, new guards are sworn in on 6 May every year in the San Damaso Courtyard (Italian: Cortile di San Damaso) in the Vatican (6 May is the anniversary of the Sack of Rome). The chaplain of the guard reads aloud the oath in the languages of the guard (German, Italian, and French):[25][26]
(English translation) I swear that I will faithfully, loyally and honourably serve the Supreme Pontiff (name of Pope) and his legitimate successors, and dedicate myself to them with all my strength, sacrificing, if necessary, my life to defend them. I assume this same commitment with regard to the
vacant. Furthermore, I promise the Captain Commandant and my other superiors respect, fidelity and obedience. I swear to observe all that the honour of my position demands of me.
When his name is called, each new guard approaches the Pontifical Swiss Guard's
(German version) Ich, ..., schwöre, alles das, was mir soeben vorgelesen wurde, gewissenhaft und treu zu halten, so wahr mir Gott und seine Heiligen helfen.[27]
(Italian version) Io, ...., giuro d’osservare fedelmente, lealmente e onorevolmente tutto ciò che in questo momento mi è stato letto, che Iddio e i Suoi Santi mi assistano.[27]
(French version) Moi, ..., jure d’observer, loyalement et de bonne foi, tout ce qui vient de m’être lu aussi vrai, que Dieu et Ses saints m’assistent.[27]
(English translation) I, (name), swear to diligently and faithfully abide by all that has just been read out to me, so help me God and his Saints.
Those who are accepted serve for a minimum of two years.[28] Regular guardsmen (halberdiers) receive a tax-free salary of EUR 1,300 per month (as of 2015) plus extra pay for hours worked overtime. In addition, accommodation and board are provided.[29] Members of the guard are eligible for pontifical decorations. The Benemerenti medal is usually awarded after three years of faithful service.
Uniforms
The official full dress uniform is of blue, red, orange and yellow with a distinctly Renaissance appearance. It was introduced by commandant Jules Repond (1910–1921) in 1914.[30] Repond's design was inspired by 16th-century depictions of the Swiss Guard.
A clear expression of the modern Pontifical Swiss Guard uniform can be seen in a 1577 fresco by
The colors blue and yellow were in use from the 16th century, said to be chosen to represent the
The ordinary guardsmen and the vice-corporals wear the "tricolor" (yellow, blue and red) uniform without any rank distinctions except for a different model of halberd in gala dress. The corporals have red braid insignia on their cuffs and use a different, more spear-like, halberd.
Headwear is typically a large black beret for daily duties, while a black or silver
The
The tailors of the Swiss Guard work inside the Vatican barracks. There the uniform for each guardsman is tailor-made individually.[32] The total set of Renaissance style clothing weighs 8 pounds (3.6 kg), and may be the heaviest and most complicated uniform in use by any standing army today. A single uniform requires 154 pieces and takes nearly 32 hours and 3 fittings to complete.[33]
The modern regular duty
In 2019, after more than 500 years, the Swiss Guard replaced its traditional metal helmet with a new version made of
Equipment
The eponymous main weapon of the halbardiers is the halberd; corporals and vice-corporals are equipped with a partisan polearm. Ranks above corporal do not have polearms, but on certain ceremonial occasions carry command batons.
The banner is escorted by two
Arms and armor used by the Swiss Guard are kept in the Armeria (armory). The Armeria also contains a collection of historical weapons no longer in use.[35][36]
The armory holds a collection of historical
The Swiss Guard in their function as bodyguards are equipped with the
In the 19th century (prior to 1870), the Swiss Guard along with the
Ranks and insignia
- Commissioned officers[41]
- Oberst (Colonel – the commandant of the Guard)
- Lieutenant Colonel– the vice-commandant)
- Kaplan (Chaplain – considered the same rank as a lieutenant colonel)
- Major
- Captain)
- Leutnant (Lieutenant, new rank introduced with promotions on 1 December 2020)[42]
- Non-commissioned officers
- Sergeant-major)
- Wachtmeister (Sergeant)
- Korporal (Corporal)
- Vizekorporal (Vice-corporal; lance corporal)
- Enlisted
- Hellebardier/Gardist (Halbardier/Guardsman)
Table of shoulder marks worn by officers.
Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Officer cadet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pontifical Swiss Guard[43]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oberst | Oberstleutnant | Major | Hauptmann | Leutnant |
Table of sleeve insignia worn by other ranks.
Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pontifical Swiss Guard[43]
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Feldweibel
|
Wachtmeister | Korporal | Vizekorporal
|
Hellebardier |
Rank | Colonel (Oberst) | Lieutenant Colonel (Oberstleutnant) | Major (Major) | Captain (Hauptmann) | Lieutenant (Leutnant) | Sergeant Major (Feldweibel) | Sergeant (Wachtmeister) | Corporal (Korporal) | Vice-Corporal (Vizekorporal) | Guard (Hellebardier) | Drummer (Tambour) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | 1 | 1 (+ Chaplain) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 100 | |
Cap badge | None | None | |||||||||
Helmet |
Banner
The design of the banner of the Pontifical Swiss Guard banner has been changed several times. A fresco by Polidoro da Caravaggio in the burial chapel of the guard in Santa Maria della Pietà in
The modern design of the banner was first used under commander Jules Repond of Freiburg (1910–1921).
Even though the banner is carried out during ceremonies and the Urbi et Orbi address and blessing twice a year, during the current pontificate of Pope Francis, only the Flag of Vatican City is used instead of the banner during ceremonial occasions as a sort of national color whenever the Pope is present.
See also
- List of commanders of the Pontifical Swiss Guard
- Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City
- Military in Vatican City
- Corsican Guard
- Noble Guard (Vatican)
- Palatine Guard
- Papal Navy
- Papal Zouaves
- Cent-Suisses
- Swiss Guards
- Swiss mercenaries
Citations
- ^ a b Werner Affentranger, Fahne Gardekommandant Graf (Gardefahne) (Maa 2015). The banner colonel Graf was completed in April 2015. Its central vignette displays the family coat of arms of Graf of Pfaffnau, "gules a plowshare argent and antlers or". WH 1/396.1 Familienwappen \ Familie: Graf \ Heimatgemeinden: Altbüron, Dagmersellen, Pfaffnau, Schötz, Triengen (State Archives of Lucerne).
- ^ a b c d Swiss Guard in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ "Corpo della Guardia Svizzera Pontificia" [Corps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard]. vatican.va (in Italian). Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- 1st King's Immemorial Infantry Regiment of AHQ of the Spanish Army (Regimiento de Infantería "Inmemorial del Rey" no. 1). "Regimiento de Infantería 'Inmemorial del Rey' nº 1"[Infantry Regiment 'Immemorial del Rey' nº 1] (in Spanish). Ejército de Tierra – Ministerio de Defensa – España. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ a b "Admission requirements". Official Vatican web page, Roman Curia, Swiss Guards. Retrieved 7 August 2006.
- ISBN 9783168145721 – via Google Books.
- ^ Peter Quardi: Kaspar von Silenen in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, 2011.
- .
- ^ History of the Pontifical Swiss Guards Official Vatican web page, Roman Curia, Swiss Guards, retrieved on 7 August 2006.
- ^ a b Royal 2006, pp. 91–92.
- ^ Alois Lütolf, Die Schweizergarde in Rom: Bedeutung und Wirkungen im sechszehnten Jahrhundert : nebst brieflichen Nachrichten zur Geschichte jenes Zeitalters von den Gardeofficieren (1859), p. 78.
- ^ Royal 2006, p. 114.
- ^ Alvarez 2011, p. 285.
- ^ Alvarez 2011, pp. 288–290.
- ^ a b Alvarez 2011, p. 368.
- ^ Alvarez 2011, p. 365.
- ^ John Follain, City of Secrets: The Truth behind the murders at the Vatican (2006).
- ^ BBC News, Sunday 22 January 2006
- ^ "Pope Francis dismisses 'authoritarian' Swiss Guard commander". BBC News. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
- ^ Swiss Guard Commander on ISIS Threat to Pope: ‘We Are Ready to Intervene’, National Catholic Register, 24 February 2015. "Vatican on alert for Islamic State attacks against Pope Francis", Reuters, 3 March 2015. Eric J. Lyman, Protecting Vatican from terrorists is an 'enormous' challenge, USA Today, 29 November 2015. Andrew Woods, In Defence of His Holiness: the Pontifical Swiss Guard and the Islamic State Archived 2018-02-22 at the Wayback Machine, Foreign Affairs Review, 1 December 2015.
- ^ "Il post sulla pagina Facebook della Guardia" [The post on the Guard's Facebook page]. Facebook (in Italian). Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ "Parolin alle Guardie Svizzere: chiamati al martirio della pazienza e della fedeltà" [Parolin to the Swiss Guards: called to the martyrdom of patience and fidelity]. vaticannews.va (in Italian). 6 May 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ "Pope thanks Pontifical Swiss Guard for dedicated, loyal service". Catholic News Service. 7 May 2009.
- ^ "Wives of Swiss Guards: work schedules, kids, and school buses create adventure in the Vatican". Rome Reports. 2019-08-03. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ^ "May 6th: The Recruits Take their Oath of Loyalty". Vatican – The Holy See. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
- ^ "Giuramento 2019 – Eventi" (PDF) (in Italian). Päpstliche Schweizergarde. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ a b c "Formula del Giuramento" [Oath of Loyalty] (in German, French, and Italian). Vatican – The Holy See. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ "The Swiss Guard is more than an army – it's a school of faith". ewtnnews.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-25.
- ^ "Interview with a Papal Swiss Guard". themosttraveled.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ a b "The Pontifical Swiss Guard – Uniforms". The Vatican. Retrieved 2011-04-17.
- ^ "The Swiss Guard – The Uniform of the Swiss Guards". vatican.va. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ "Päpstliche Schweizergarde: Leben in der Garde" [Pontifical Swiss Guard: Life in the Guard] (in German). Archived from the original on 2013-07-18. Retrieved 2017-08-15.
- ^ National Geographic: Inside the Vatican, 2001
- ^ Gallagher, Della (January 24, 2019). "Vatican's Swiss Guards wear new 3D-printed helmets". CNN. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
- ^ a b c Eger, Chris (16 April 2017). "Guns of the Vatican's Swiss Guard". Guns.com. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- ^ Rogoway, Tyler (28 September 2015). "The Pope Has A Small But Deadly Army Of Elite Warriors Protecting Him". Foxtrot Alpha. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- ^ Pöcher, Harald (1 August 2012). "Österreichische Waffen für die Schweizergarde" [Austrian weapons for the Swiss Guard]. Der Soldat (in German). No. 15. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017.
- ^ Wedl, Johanna (16 February 2013). "Rüstungen für Schweizer Garde" [Armor for Swiss Guards]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German).
- ^ "Harnischreplikate" [Armor Replicas] (PDF). Fondazione GSP (guardiasvizzera.va) (in German). 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-11-24. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
- ^ "12,7 mm Remington Papal". patronensammlervereinigung.at (in German).; see also earmi.it database.
- ^ "Responsabili" [Responsible]. www.guardiasvizzera.va (in Italian). Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ "Guardie Svizzere in aumento, da gennaio saranno 135" [Swiss Guards on the rise, from January they will be 135] (in Italian). 6 December 2020. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Päpstliche Schweizergarde: Gradabzeichen" (PDF). schweizergarde.ch (in German). Pontifical Swiss Guard. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ John Woodward, A Treatise On Ecclesiastical Heraldry (1894), p. 161.
- ^ Die Fahne der Päpstlichen Schweizergarde (kath.net), 4 May 2015.
- ^ Stefan Vogler, Sacco di Roma; Plünderung von Rom (2015), p. 19.
- ^ Gardefahnen der Schweizergarde (vaticanhistory.de)
General and cited sources
- Alvarez, David (2011). The Pope's Soldiers: A Military History of the Modern Vatican. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1770-8.
- Richard, Christian-Roland Marcel (2005). La Guardia Svizzera Pontificia nel corso dei secoli. Leonardo International.
- Royal, Robert (2006). The Pope's Army: 500 Years of the Papal Swiss Guard. Crossroads Publishing Co.
- Roland Beck-von Büren: Swiss Guard in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- Serrano, Antonio (1992). Die Schweizergarde der Päpste. Bayerland: Verlagsanstalt.
External links
- Official website: English; Archived 2013-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
- The Vatican's Official Swiss Guard site
- Pontifical Swiss Guard, Commission or Committee of the Roman (CuriaGCatholic.org)
- Five Hundred Years of Loyalty (catholicism.org)
- Insignia of Rank (officers and other ranks) Pontifical Swiss Guard (uniforminsignia.com)