30 Swiss Guards sworn in

P(ANSA) – Vatican City, May 6 – A new batch of Swiss Guards were sworn in on Tuesday, joining the ranks of the oldest and smallest army in the world. Raising three fingers to evoke the Holy Trinity, 30 new recruits swore allegiance to the pope and the college of cardinals in the event of a vacant Holy See.BR”508 years have passed since this worthy corps was established and the fact that young people continue to arrive from Switzerland wanting to serve the pope is reason to give enthusiastic thanks to God,” said substitute Vatican Secretary of State Monsignor Angelo Becciu at the ceremony. The archbishop also invited the recruits, sporting the characteristic blue-and-orange Renaissance-style uniform, to pray to pope siants John Paul II and John XXIII, who were canonised by Pope Francis on April 27. The Swiss Guards traditionally swear their oath of allegiance on May 6 to recall the deaths of 147 predecessors during the Sack of Rome by Emperor Charles V in 1527.BROnly 42 guards survived the attack and ensured that Pope Clement VII (Giulio de’ Medici) escaped the ignominy of capture.BRFounded in 1506 by Pope Julius II, the elite corps is recruited from a group of Swiss towns and villages that for centuries have provided the Vatican’s security watchdogs with responsibility for guarding the pope and the Apostolic Palace.BRDuring the Middle Ages and in Renaissance times, the Swiss had the reputation of being Europe’s most reliable mercenaries – tough fighters who hardly ever changed sides.BRRecruitment terms are strict.BRCandidates have to be single males, at least 1.74m tall, practising Catholics, to have completed their compulsory military service in Switzerland and to be “of stainless character”.BRSwiss Guards sign on for a minimum of two years.BR/P
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