The new members of the Swiss Guard, considered the smallest army in the world, take their oath of office, commemorating May 6, 1527: in that year, 147 Swiss bodyguards gave their lives on the 7th. In defense of Pope Clement Matthew VII. Emperor Charles's mercenaries invaded and sacked the Vatican and the city of Rome.
The swearing-in ceremony for the papal bodyguard takes place in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palaces bearing the name of Saint Damasus. At the swearing-in ceremony, the Guardsmen wear their ceremonial blue, yellow and red uniform, which they also wear on major holidays, such as the papal blessing at Easter and Christmas. The thirty-four bodyguards read the Latin text of the oath one by one, while raising three fingers of their right hand in the sign of the Holy Trinity.
Before taking the oath, a mass was held in St. Peter's Basilica, celebrated by the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Pope Francis also received members of the personal guard led by Commander Christoph Graf, in addition to the new soldiers who were about to take the oath and whose family members also arrived at the Vatican.
The church president thanked the Swiss Guardsmen for their “vigilant, humane and conscientious” service. He asked the new arrivals not to look at their mobile phones in their free time, but rather to try to recognize the beauty of the city of Rome surrounding them.
As usual, the Swiss delegation headed by Federal President Viola Amherd will participate in the swearing-in ceremony, in addition to the Chief of the General Staff of Swiss Defense and the President of the Bishops' Conference, MTI reported.
Requirements for joining the Swiss Guard include that applicants must be practicing Catholics and Swiss citizens. Applications are expected from men between the ages of nineteen and thirty, who have graduated from high school, are unmarried, have no criminal record, and are at least 174 cm tall. Military service is equivalent to twenty-six months, after which the Swiss Guard can continue his career in the security field in the Vatican or elsewhere.
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