Never Pass Up a Chance to Say Something Stupid

Rome - For at least the past six centuries, there’s always been a spirit of “We Few, We Proud,” about the Swiss Guards, the small but elite military force, with their signature multi-colored uniforms and timeless halberds, responsible for the personal security of the pope.

Yet for this year’s edition of the annual swearing-in ceremony on Monday, the word “few” will take on a new, and more literal, meaning. The 23 Swiss Catholic males between 19 and 30 who’ll enter the corps represent a drop-off of nine new members from last year, or almost 30 percent.
Though no official explanation has been offered for the drop, the Vatican has announced that a series of video clips will be issued in coming months intended to stir up interest among young men in Switzerland to “become part of this world.” The series will be titled, “The Swiss Guard tells its story.”

Ahead of Monday’s ceremony, which will unfold in the Vatican’s Cortile San Damaso in the presence of Swiss dignitaries as well as various bishops and cardinals, Pope Francis met the corps of the Swiss Guards on Saturday.

(Francis himself won’t be on hand for the event, since on Monday he’ll be visiting Bulgaria ahead of a quick stop in Macedonia the next day.)

The swearing-ceremony is held each year on May 6 because it’s the anniversary of the Sack of Rome in 1527, when only 42 of 189 Swiss Guards survived a ferocious attack on the Vatican by mutinous troops of the Holy Roman Emperor. Despite the carnage, the remaining Swiss Guards were able to spirit Pope Clement VII to safety using a secret passage connecting the Apostolic Palace with the nearby Castel Sant’Angelo.

Francis on Saturday thanked the guards for their “precious and generous service to the pope and the Church,” but this was no military address - instead, the pope devoted most of his brief remarks to giving these youthful Swiss men enjoying a sojourn in Rome a mini-lesson in diversity.
“Cultural, religious and social diversity is a human richness and not a threat,” the pope said, inviting the Swiss Guards to learn “to recognize in the other a brother and a companion, someone with whom to share serenely a patch of the road.”

The Pontifical Swiss Guard

When's the Next Crusade?

 Embed from Getty Images


The world’s oldest standing army has 40 new members after a Vatican Swiss Guard swearing-in ceremony.
Each man took a loyalty oath Saturday evening in a ritual-rich ceremony in the St Damaso courtyard of the Apostolic Palace. The May 6 date commemorates the day in 1527 when 147 guardsmen died while protecting Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome.
Earlier Saturday, Pope Francis told the Guards they are called to “another sacrifice no less arduous” — serving the power of faith.
The recruits, who enroll for at least two years, must be single, upstanding Swiss Catholic males younger than 30.
Wearing blue-and-gold uniforms and holding halberds — spear-like weapons — they are a tourist delight while standing guard at Vatican ceremonies. Their main duty is to protect the pope.

Making Armor For the Swiss Guard

Here's the link.

St. Michael the Archangel, Protect Us in Battle

Here is something extremely cool.

First, you may recall that last year we had a project to help one of the Swiss Guard have custom armor made.  HERE   I’ve stayed in touch with the Guard and his wife.

Then I got another project going, with the essential aid of my good friend Fr. Richard Heilman, who has been featured in these electronic pages often.   He took his parish to ad orientem worship and the numbers of attendants increased.  He put in an altar rail and moved his people to receive on the tongue.  He implemented Summorum Pontificum.  We just had the bishop there for Ascension Thursday.  He is the state chaplain of the Knights of Columbus and has many other things going, including something advertised on this blog on the side bar, his “combat” Rosaries, which he has made.  Super-tough Rosaries.

 Now to the project.

At my prompting Fr. Heilman sent the gun-metal rosaries to all of the Swiss Guards.
Today, during his address to the new recruits about to be sworn in, the Commandant held up one of them during his address and told them that training and arms are necessary, but “the most important weapon is the ‘combat rosary'”.  

You can check out the website of Roman Catholic Gear here.

The Sack of Rome and the Swiss Guard

May 6th: The Recruits Take their Oath of Loyalty\


Vatican Radio) The sacrifice of one hundred and forty seven Swiss Guards who laid down their lives in defense of Pope Clement VII and the Holy Mother Church during the Sack of Rome in 1527 is commemorated each year on May 6.
Yet again, that important date will be remembered on Wednesday afternoon during the annual swearing-in ceremony for new Swiss Guards which takes place in the Saint Damaso Courtyard of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
 

 The Swiss Guard is the oldest standing army in the world and its motto is “Courage and Loyalty”. 2015 sees the swearing in of 32 new Guards who were received in audience by Pope Francis on Monday.
During that audience the Pope told the men who are charged with protecting him that they should pray the rosary during honor guard duty and always carry a small version of the Gospel in their pockets.
"What I tell everyone, I'll tell you too: always keep a small Gospel close at hand, read it as soon as you have a calm moment. It will help you in your personal prayer, especially the Rosary, during the honor guard," he said.
The Pope also called the audience an occasion "to nurture a meaningful friendship, because you work so close to me".
During the ceremony each new guard approaches the flag as his name is called out. Firmly clasping the banner in his left hand, the recruit raises his right hand high and distinctly opens three fingers, a symbol of his faith in the Holy Trinity. 
Then, he confirms the oath, proclaiming:
“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.”
The patron saints of the Guard include St. Martin, St. Sebastian, and St. Nicholas of Flue, “Defensor Pacis et pater patriae.”

Pot, Meet Kettle

TURIN, Italy (Reuters) - People who manufacture weapons or invest in weapons industries are hypocrites if they call themselves Christian, Pope Francis said on Sunday.

Francis issued his toughest condemnation to date of the weapons industry at a rally of thousands of young people at the end of the first day of his trip to the Italian city of Turin.

"If you trust only men you have lost," he told the young people in a long, rambling talk about war, trust and politics after putting aside his prepared address.

"It makes me think of ... people, managers, businessmen who call themselves Christian and they manufacture weapons. That leads to a bit a distrust, doesn't it?" he said to applause.
He also criticized those who invest in weapons industries, saying "duplicity is the currency of today ... they say one thing and do another."

Hey! It's the Swiss guard! What do they do?

Currently, the name Swiss Guard generally refers to the Pontifical Swiss Guard of the Holy See stationed at the Vatican in Rome. The Papal Swiss Guard has a bodyguard -like role.

 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.

They don't carry weapons, I hope....well, according to Wikipedia they carry or MAY carry:

 Traditional arms: 

Swords
Common batons
Partisans
Halberds
Flamberges
Cuirass with spaulders.


Modern Arms:
SIG P220
Glock 19
Steyr TMP
Heckler & Koch MP5A3

Heckler & Koch MP7AA1
SIG SG 550
SIG SG 552

Swiss Army Armor Update!

Yesterday was the day that new members of the Swiss Guard were sworn in. Fath

er Z helped raise the money to embellish Corporal Bergamin's breastplate with etchings of St. Joseph and St. Joan of Arc. Mission accomplished!

Corporal Bergamin

Speaking of Joan of Arc....

Remember when Father Z. asked for donations to have a custom made breastplate designed for a member of the Swiss Guard? No? Read about it here.

He provides an update (from Corporal Bergamin's wife):


Delivery of the breastplate will be next week, just before the swearing-in ceremony on 6 May. The Austrian brothers who handmade the breastplate will bring it to the Vatican. Dominic is so excited to wear it for the first time on this important occasion. This is happening years before we thought it would be possible and we thank you heartily and humbly with our prayers.

Joan of Arc on breastplate

Do You Have Prince Albert in a Can?

Father Z. reports:

The Guard Takes an Oath to Protect the Pope

 I have a project for us all.

When I was in Rome last October with a pilgrimage group for the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage (there is another coming up this October – see the ad on the sidebar), we had a private tour of the barracks of the Swiss Guards.  The tour that day was conducted by the fiancee of one of the Corporals of the Guard.   They are now married, by the way.  When we were in the armory, she explained how uncomfortable the breastplates are for the men, because they are not individually crafted.   Imagine.

However, she said that her fiancee, now husband, the Corporal wanted to get an individually fitted breastplate.

It would coast 6000 Euro, which was out of their reach on a guard’s salary. However, my heart melted when she said it would have St. Joseph on the front and St. Joan of Arc on the back.

So Father Z. did something. He began a campaign to raise the money to pay for a custom made breastplate. And....

 Hurray!  You did it.

Cpl. Bergamin

Barbarians at the Gate

The Pope better hope not.....

From The Guardian:

He has dismissed and demoted cardinals, bishops and the Vatican secretary of state, and now Pope Francis’s reformist zeal has claimed a new scalp – the head of his own private army, the Swiss Guard.

In a dispassionate one-sentence notice, the Vatican’s official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, announced on Wednesday that Daniel Anrig will no longer serve as the commandant of the 500-year-old corps after the end of next month.

No official explanation was given for the decision, but it was widely rumoured that the Argentinean Pope, who has established a warmer, more inclusive style of governance since being appointed pontiff in March last year, found the commander’s manner overly strict and “Teutonic”. 

 

T he Swiss Guard was formed in 1506 as a body of mercenary fighters by Pope Julius II.
The tiny force, which consists of around 110 officers and men, is responsible for the Pope’s safety and the security of the Vatican in general.
They can be seen on guard outside the Vatican every day, dressed in striped blue, red and gold uniforms and carrying halberds as their traditional weapons.
The Swiss Guard’s most significant military engagement was in 1527 when 190 guards died fighting Holy Roman Empire troops during the Sack of Rome, allowing Clement VII to flee to safety through a stone passageway. 

Speaking of old battleaxes, maybe he could replace them with: