Pope meets new Swiss Guards

(May 7, 2012) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday encouraged 26 new members of the fabled Swiss Guards of the Vatican to draw from Jesus the grace to be faithful to the Pope and his Church, just as their predecessors had been doing for over 500 years. The Pope met the new members of the Pontifical Swiss Guards and their families a day after their swearing-in ceremony in the Vatican. The oath-taking ceremony is held each year on May 6 to commemorate the day in 1527 when 147 Swiss Guards died protecting Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome. Only 42 guards survived. Recalling their undisputed and heroic fidelity on that occasion, Pope Benedict noted that the special service of the world’s oldest and smallest army has always been marked by the same outstanding qualities through the centuries: namely solid Catholic faith, fidelity and love for the Church of Christ, diligence and perseverance in their duties both small and great, courage and humility, and generosity and readiness. The Pope encouraged the young guards to care for and edify one another in their daily duties and maintain a style of evangelical charity towards all they meet. In this they can draw their strength from the furnace of divine love through long periods of prayer, constant listening to the Word of God and by making the Eucharist the centre of their lives. “Holiness is the goal of every Christian life,” the Pope reminded them. January 22, 1506, is regarded as the official foundation of the Pontifical Swiss Guard. On that day, a group of 150 Swiss soldiers marching all the way from Switzerland entered for the first time the Vatican, where they were blessed by Pope Julius II.