Keep Swiss pontifical

See also: Swiss (homonymy)

The pontifical Swiss guard is a military force charged to take care of the safety of the Pape. It is the last still existing Garde Swiss (of the detachments of mercenaries Suisse S which was used as close guard and protocolar in different course European as from the 15th century). It is also about oldest and smallest the Armée with the today existing world.

History

The Swiss Guard was called with the the Vatican by the pope Jules II the June 21st 1505 when sovereign pontiff asked for the Swiss Diète of provide him a permanent body of two hundred soldiers for his protection. The Mercenaire S Suisse S were a natural choice because they were most famous of Europe. Moreover, the pope knew the “Swiss ones well”, having received in évêché benefit of Lausanne a score of years earlier.

In September 1505, the first quota of Swiss guards gets under way for Rome. The official date of foundation of the Swiss Guard is the January 22nd 1506, date of the entry of a first quota of Hallebardier S organized in companies ordered by the Uranais Kaspar von Silenen on the place of the People ( Piazza del Popolo ) in the Eternal City. In 1512, the pope granted to them, during an imposing ceremony, the title of “defenders of the freedom of the Church”, because they had just saved the papal throne while fighting bravely against the troops of king de France, Louis XII.

Its most memorable action and most significant proceeds the May 6th 1527, when a hundred and forty seven of the “mercenaries of God” perish as a combatant the Lansquenet S of Charles Quint to defend the driving staircase with the tomb of holy Pierre, while forty-two other Swiss guards protect the escape from the pope Clément VII with the Château Saint-Angel (they will be the only survivors). As of the year which follows this tragedy, the May 6th becomes the date of the “oath of the recruits”.

Mission

Today the Swiss Guard is not any more regarded as the component of a more important military force and became the single armed force of the State of the Vatican.

The Swiss Guard is responsible for the entries to the apostolic palate, the offices of the Secrétairie of State and to the private apartments of the Pape. The Swiss guards also accompany the Holy Father in all his displacements out of the Vatican City and supervise the entries external of the the Vatican. Lastly, it shares with other forces the safety of the pontiff itself. The attack of May 13rd, 1981 against Jean-Paul II involved besides a first wave of modernization with regard to recruitment and the formation.

This force from now on is limited to a hundred and ten soldiers, because of the size of the barracks, and has especially a protocolar role, although it is involved and equipped according to the modern standards and that its members intervened on several occasions at the time of incidents at the time of the papal ceremonies.

Recruitment

Conditions

Based on the enrôlement voluntary one, the recruitment of the Swiss Guard was carried out historically among the men of Swiss nationality and single people, originating in the cantons of Zurich and Lucerne, to which the cantons of Uri and Unterwalden were added then. Nowadays, it is simply enough to be Swiss citizen of confession Catholique Roman and enjoying “an irreproachable reputation”. The future Swiss guards must be graduate of a secondary school of the second degree (maturity or vat) and have carried out their school of recruit (to be built-in the Swiss army following one period of active service). They must also be old of 19 to 30 years, single people and measure at least 1,74 meter. The fact of speaking several languages, in particular Switzerland-German, are an asset.

Since 1848, the Swiss guards are recruited by personal relation.

Since 1859, it acts of the only force Mercenaire authorized by the Swiss Droit.

The Swiss guards are currently almost all native of the cantons of Lucerne, of Saint-Gall, Freiburg and of the Valais.

Oath

If it is retained, the new recruit will lend oath of fidelity the May 6th (in remembering the action of the May 6th 1527) of its first year of service in the Cour San Damaso ( Cortile San Damaso ) of the Vatican. The new built-in ones will listen to the chaplain of the Guard lira in their language (most of the time in German, some time in French, more rarely in Italian) the text of the unchanged oath since five centuries:

I swear to be useful with fidelity, honesty and honor Sovereign pontiff of the Pope and his legitimate successors, like devoting me to them of all my forces, offering, if that is necessary, my life for their defense. I also assume these engagements with regard to the Sacré College of the cardinals during the vacancy of the apostolic Seat. I promise moreover to the commander and to the other superiors respect, fidelity and obedience. I swear to observe all that the honor requires of my state.

The new recruit advances then solemnly, poses the hand on the flag of the Guard and draws up the inch, the index and the major one of the right hand (symbol of the Trinité) while reciting:

Me, of the recruit, I swear to observe honestly and in good faith all that has just been to me read. As true as God and our Patron saint assist me.

Composition

Since its foundation, the Guard knew more or less important manpower and was even dissolved on the occasion.

The Swiss Guard is currently made up of 5 officers (1 Colonel, 1 Lieutenant-colonel, 1 Major and 2 Capitaine S), 27 warrant officers (1 Quartermaster-sergeant, 6 Sergent S, 10 corporals and 10 vice-corporals), 77 Hallebardier S and 1 Chapelain (with the rank of lieutenant-colonel).

The current one (November 2005) ordering Guard is the Colonel Elmar Th. Mäder. In November 2005, this last excluded that women belong to the Guard for reasons of exiguity of the barracks and discipline (“the guards are young and I do not want that there are problems. I do not say that the women are not ready to be useful in the security forces, it is rather a question of discipline. The guards are young and they are with the service only of God and the pope”).

The official language of the Swiss Guard is the German .

Equipment

The official uniform, of red color, yellow and blue (blue and the yellow are the colors of the family Della Rovere to which Jules II belonged, the red was added by its successor Leon X, a Médicis), was not drawn by Michel-Angel during the Renaissance like wants it the legend, but is the work of the commander of the Guard Jules Repond (1910 - 1921) in 1914 which took as a starting point the frescos of Raphaël. The uniforms are created to measure and are blessed by the pope for each guard. When one of them finishes its service, its uniform must be destroyed with the Hachoir (in order to avoid any fraudulent or abusive use. The guards receive also a behavior usual, blue, known as “small behavior”, with a alpine Béret.

He is entrusted also to each guard a Hallebarde, long of more than 2,30 meters, and a scraping-knife. Only the two flag-holders will inherit a swordfish (a sword which is held with two hands).

The guards never had of Cavalerie or heavy Artillerie. But in addition to the handling of the regulatory Halberd, they from now on are involved with the use of all kinds of Pistolet S and rifles of attack, like with the sports of combat.

As regards protection, all the guards receive an armor and a helmet light with two points at the raised (the morione ), decorated edges feathers of Faisan or Héron and struck Chêne, the emblem of the family Della Rovere.

The complete uniform, which is necessary only for the special occasionss (like the oath-taking), constitutes a puzzle of one hundred fifty four parts.

Daily life

The guards sign a two year old contract for a pay monthly clear of 1  200 euros.

Those all are unmarried (except the officers, warrant officers higher as well as the corporals which has the right to marry). They have formal prohibition to sleep out of the Vatican, where they are placed in dormitory in the barracks of the Guard. The guards are alone, to two or three per room, with extinction of fires at midnight or later according to advance. However this life of barracks is not a life of convent: the Swiss ones have their practices in the trattorie and the bars of Borgo Pio, and the majority marry with Italians met in the district.

The daily life of the guards is punctuated liturgical celebrations. They have a Chapelle where the chaplain of the pontifical army officiates.

Fact various of May 4th, 1998

The May 4th 1998 around 9 p.m., one finds in his private apartment the lifeless body of colonel Aloïs Estermann (44 years), promoted the day before ordering guard, like that of his wife Gladys Meza Romero (48 years) and of Cédric Tornay (23 years), vice-corporal. All three killed out of a ball of gun, a Sig 75, pertaining to the warrant officer. The investigation officially concluded with “an act of madness” from the young guard which would have killed the couple before committing suicide. Cédric Tornay, furious to be itself considering refused a decoration (the Benemerenti ), would have killed its superior and his wife before committing suicide. The press could evoke a spite in love homosexual or a plot with the East-German secret services, the more so as the gauge of Sig would not correspond to the hole in the throat of the Tornay young person and that the mother of this last did not succeed in obtaining the opening of an investigation at the Vatican. It is more probable nevertheless than this tragedy is to be allotted to the tended relations which reigned at this time in “small Switzerland”, as certain testimonys attest it.

Many feared that the Swiss Guard does not survive this scandal. But as of the ceremonies of the May 6th, Angelo Sodano, the Secretary of State, dismisses the assumption of a dissolution and entrusts to Elmar Mäder, former assistant promoted commander, the mission of renovating the Guard.

Commanders since 1506

The commanders of the Swiss Guard could be native cantons of Saint-Gall (SG), of Lucerne (LU), of Zurich, (ZH), of Soleure (SO), of Freiburg (FR), Valais (VS), of Uri (UR), of the Grisons (GR.).

Since 1506, thirty-six commanders are succédé with the head of the Swiss Guard. The family Pfyffer von Altishofen provided to it only eleven commanders.

Protection of the pope

The last pontifical armed bodies were dissolved by Paul VI on September 14th, 1970, in fact:

Other pontifical armed bodies had existed in the past, in particular the Corsican Garde (dissolved at the 17th century).

Nowadays, the internal security of the Vatican City is ensured by the Gendarmerie of the State of the Vatican City and the pontifical Swiss Guard.

The Swiss guards did not always convince of their effectiveness the Italian ministry for defense, especially since the attack made by Mehmet Ali Ağca against the pope Jean-Paul II the May 13rd 1981. Certain journalists believe to notice a certain competition between the gendarmerie and the Swiss Guard which would not be without harming the effectiveness of the device.

The exterior security of the Vatican City (Place Saint-Pierre) is for its part ensured since the May 13rd 1981 by the Italian State, which has a board of inspectors of public safety close the Vatican. Carabinieri and organizes Italian protect the pilgrims from the menus larcenies.

Memory

Random links:Cadillac (automobile) | Fushigi No Rin | Annois | The War for stars | Young miss