Pope tells Swiss Guards they need each other to be all they can be

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Living in harmony with others requires benevolence, honesty, solidarity and mutual respect, Pope Leo XIV said.

Welcoming new recruits from different regions of Switzerland to the Pontifical Swiss Guard, the pope said they are called “to form a united body, to create strong and healthy bonds of friendship.”

“Alone, you would not be able to realize your potential fully,” he said. “You need one another in order to learn, to progress, to serve in a world increasingly tempted by division and isolation.”

The pope met with members of the Swiss Guard, including 27 new recruits and their family members Oct. 3 in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican.

Normally, new recruits are sworn in each year during a special ceremony on May 6 to mark the date in 1527 when 147 Swiss Guards lost their lives defending Pope Clement VII in the Sack of Rome. Only 42 guards survived, and holding the ceremony on the anniversary is meant to remind new guards of the seriousness of their commitment.

However, the ceremony this year was postponed to Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, after Pope Francis died April 21 and Pope Leo was elected May 8. The only other time the ceremony was postponed to Oct. 4 was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pope Leo thanked them for their dedication and commitment to protecting the pope every day.

“Benevolence, honesty, solidarity and mutual respect constitute the pillars on which a harmonious life can be built,” he told them. “Each person can be, for the other, a model with his words and conduct, with his charity and faith. And you can be a message of unity for all the Roman Curia.”

The pope recognized the many challenges their young generation faces.

“They are environmental issues, economic changes, social tensions, the digital revolution, artificial intelligence and other complex realities that require discernment and a sense of responsibility,” he said.

However, their stay in Rome should help “develop your maturity also in these aspects of social life,” and he encouraged them “to remain faithful to the Gospel and to the fundamental values of your Christian faith.”

“In this Holy Year, may you be, with your simple witness, missionaries of hope for the people you meet,” he said, and “may the flame of hope illuminate your life and give you the courage to dare and to contribute together to the civilization of love.”

The Swiss Guard also unveiled a new dark blue uniform for officers during a news conference Oct. 3.

While the guard’s signature blue, red and yellow “gala uniform” and other regalia remain the same, its so-called “representation uniform,” which officers wear to officially represent the corps at formal occasions, was redesigned by Lieutenant Colonel Loïc Marc Rossier, vice-commander of the guard.

The colorful “gala uniform” had been designed by Jules Repond, commander of the guard in the early 1900s, using the traditional colors of the famous Italian Medici family, which produced four popes.

The guards wear the colorful garb during “honor guard” duty, receiving heads of state and at papal ceremonies, and they add 17th-century armor over it at Easter, Christmas and swearing-in ceremonies.

Corps members seen guarding the Vatican’s business entrance, the St. Anne’s Gate, wear a blue, lighter weight “exercise uniform,” usually worn for training and night duty. The Swiss Guard website says, “the colorful gala uniform would cause too much distraction for the motorists.”

More than 130 Swiss soldiers are responsible for guarding all entrances into Vatican City State as well as keeping watch over the pope and his residence. They also provide security and ceremonial services during liturgical events and visits of heads of state and other dignitaries to the Vatican.