How does one become a Swiss Guard?

New recruits must be unmarried Roman Catholic males with Swiss citizenship, between 19 and 30 years of age, and at least 5 feet 8 inches (1.74 metres) tall; they must have a professional diploma or high school degree and must complete basic training with the Swiss military.

How much does a Swiss Guard make?

A recruit can expect to earn just over SFr1,500 ($942) a month - a seemingly paltry sum. However, Segmüller said the salary has to be seen alongside the other benefits of the job. "The guards pay no taxes or health insurance," he said.

Can a non Swiss join the Swiss Guard?

Recruits to the guards must be unmarried Swiss, Catholic males between 18 and 30 years of age who have completed basic training with the Swiss Armed Forces.

How long is the Swiss Guard training?

The shortest contract given from the Vatican to a Swiss Guard is 25 months. Once a Halberdier's contract begins they are required to attend Italian language classes. By the end of their first year of service the soldiers will be ready to take up guard duty at the main gates of the Vatican.

Does the Swiss Guard do anything?

While the Swiss Guard has many ceremonial responsibilities—guarding Vatican checkpoints, standing sentry in the Apostolic Palace, appearing at celebratory masses and other events—their ultimate job is to keep the pope out of harm's way, even if that means taking a bullet for him.

The Pontifical Swiss Guard

Can an American join the Swiss army?

US-Swiss dual nationals resident in the USA cannot volunteer for military service in Switzerland. Swiss nationals in the US who are not US citizens at the same time can volunteer, if they are fluent in a Swiss national language.

Why is Vatican guarded by Swiss Guards?

Medieval tradition. The origins of the Swiss Guard date back over five hundred years. Late in the Middle Ages, it became a tradition to recruit Swiss mercenaries as special military units. The Swiss soldiers were famous for their military professionalism.

Who can join the Swiss Guard?

New recruits must be unmarried Roman Catholic males with Swiss citizenship, between 19 and 30 years of age, and at least 5 feet 8 inches (1.74 metres) tall; they must have a professional diploma or high school degree and must complete basic training with the Swiss military.

Are Swiss Guards elite?

They are members of the Swiss Guard - often referred to as the papal guards or Swiss mercenaries - an elite, company-sized military force that has defended a succession of popes for more than five centuries and not always without bloodshed.

What is the pope salary?

The pope will not be affected by the cuts, because he does not receive a salary. “As an absolute monarch, he has everything at his disposal and nothing at his disposal,” Mr. Muolo said. “He doesn't need an income, because he has everything that he needs.”

Can Swiss Guards marry?

As if that didn't make the choosing hard enough, these men must also have undergone mandatory military service in Switzerland and mustn't be married. Although they are eventually allowed to marry, this is usually only permitted to those over the age of 25 who have reached the rank of Corporal.

How many Swiss Guards are there?

Today there are 110 Swiss Guards at the Vatican, recruited from a group of Swiss towns and villages that for centuries have provided soldiers for the popes.

Does the pope have a clear car?

Popes have gotten around in all types of vehicles, but only the cars with a clear, enclosed, “bubble” compartment designed to allow the pope to stand are easily identified as Popemobiles. The most current of these vehicles is a modified Mercedes M Class SUV, but it isn't the only car Pope Francis uses.

Who is the head of the Swiss Guard?

Christoph Graf (born 5 September 1961) is the 35th and current Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, appointed by Pope Francis on 7 February 2015, replacing Col. Daniel Anrig.

Is the Swiss Guard German?

Swiss Guards (French: Gardes Suisses; German: Schweizergarde; Italian: Guardie Svizzere; Dutch: Kerkbaljuw/Suisse) are Swiss soldiers who have served as guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century.

Does the Vatican have a jail?

The Vatican has no prison system, apart from a few cells for pre-trial detention. People sentenced to imprisonment by the Vatican serve time in Italian prisons, with costs covered by the Vatican.

Has a pope ever been assassinated?

John VIII was the first pope to be assassinated during a particularly turbulent century that would see multiple claimants to the papacy and a succession of violent papal deaths.

Does the pope have his own army?

The Vatican City State has never had independent armed forces, but it has always had a de facto military provided by the armed forces of the Holy See: the Pontifical Swiss Guard, the Noble Guard, the Palatine Guard, and the Papal Gendarmerie Corps.

Does the Vatican have a secret service?

For five centuries, the Vatican—the oldest organization in the world, maker of kings and shaper of history—has used a secret spy service, called the Holy Alliance, or later, the Entity, to carry out its will. Forty popes have relied on it to carry out their policies.

Do Swiss mercenaries still exist?

Switzerland's military isolationism largely put an end to organized mercenary activity; the principal remnant of the practice is the Pontifical Swiss Guard at the Vatican.

Does the Vatican have a telescope?

The Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope (VATT) is located on Mt. Graham in south eastern Arizona, and is part of the Mount Graham International Observatory. The Vatican Observatory Research Group (VORG) operates the 1.8m Alice P.

Does the Vatican have police?

The Gendarmerie Corps of Vatican City State (Italian: Corpo della Gendarmeria dello Stato della Città del Vaticano) is the gendarmerie, or police and security force, of Vatican City and the extraterritorial properties of the Holy See.

What happens to the pope's ring after he dies?

The gold ring, which bears an image of St. Peter and the current pope's name, is used as a papal seal and is always destroyed at the end of a papacy, usually when the office-holder dies. The BBC reported that Benedict's ring will be smashed by a specially designed silver hammer.

Can men wear shorts to the Vatican?

The Dress Code in the Vatican City

Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica. Its basic code is for both men and women both need to cover their knees and upper arms. They prohibit wearing shorts or skirts above the knee, sleeveless tops, and low-cut shirts.

How do I find a Swiss Guard?

Given that mission statement you won't be surprised to learn that you can see the Swiss Guard at any time, day or night, at the entrances to the Vatican City, outside the Pope's own apartments and at any public event within the Vatican, including celebrations of Holy Mass, meetings with heads of states and public ...