SWISS GUARDS

Italian Guardia Svizzera corps of Swiss-born soldiers responsible for the safety of the pope. They serve as personal escorts to the pontiff and as watchmen for Vatican City and the pontifical villa of Castel-Gandolfo. The guards, who are independent of the Swiss armed forces, are employed by the Roman Catholic church under the leadership of the pope, to whom they swear fealty in a ceremony at Belvedere Court. New recruits must prove that they are of Swiss origin, born in wedlock, Roman Catholic, unmarried, less than 25 years old, and healthy and free of physical deformities. Commanding officers are traditionally of noble lineage. The guards normally wear blue doublets and blue berets, but on ceremonial occasions they don uniforms whose design (c. 1506) is attributed to Michelangelo; the uniforms are one of the oldest types in continuous use. The tunics are striped in the colours of the Medici family: red, dark blue, and yellow. White ruffs and high plumed helmets are also worn, as, on occasion, is armour. While in traditional dress the guards carry pikes and swords, but they are also trained in the use of modern weaponry. The living quarters of the Swiss Guards are at the eastern edge of the city, north of St. Peter's Square and beside the Vatican palace. Their chapel is that of SS. Martino and Sebastiano, and the Campo Santo Teutonico, near St. Peter's Basilica, is designated their cemetery. Swiss mercenaries were in the service of the Papal States in the late 14th and 15th centuries. In 1505 the Swiss bishop (later cardinal) Matthus Schiner, acting on behalf of Pope Julius II, proposed the creation of a permanent Swiss contingent of 200 men who would operate under the direct control of the pope. On January 21, 1506, the first group of Swiss Guards arrived at the Vatican. They soon earned a reputation for self-sacrifice and bravery147 of them were killed during the sack of Rome in 1527. The unit was reorganized in 1914 to consist of a commandant (with rank of colonel), 5 other ranking officers, 15 lesser officers, a chaplain, and 110 pikemen. Further reorganizations were made in 1959 and 1976, and in 1979 their number was fixed at 100 (a commandant, 3 other high officers, a chaplain, 23 lesser officers, 2 drummers, and 70 pikemen). In 1981 Swiss Guards helped protect John Paul II during an assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square. In an apparent murder-suicide in 1998, the guards' newly appointed commandant and his wife were shot and killed at their Vatican residence along with a lower-ranking guard; these were the first murders known to have been committed in Vatican City since the mid-19th century. The Swiss Guards are sometimes referred to as the Vatican City police, but a separately administered police force is charged with the overall security of the nation-state (except St. Peter's Square, which is under the jurisdiction of the Italian police). See also Pontifical Gendarmerie.