Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2005

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VATICAN CITY -- One of the Vatican's most popular tourist attractions is about to celebrate its 500th anniversary with a special series of stamps, concerts, Masses and a 450-mile march.

The Swiss Guard officially turns 500 Jan. 22, the anniversary of the arrival in Rome of 150 Swiss soldiers recruited to serve and protect Pope Julius II.

The Vatican's commemorative stamps, featuring artwork by former guard Rudolf Mirer, went on sale Nov. 22 at the Vatican and in Switzerland, marking the first Vatican-Swiss stamp package.

Also in anticipation of the anniversary, a history of the Guard written by Sgt. Christian-Roland Marcel Richard was released Nov. 9.

Col. Elmar Mader, commander of the Guard, said Richard's work marked the first time that an active guard published a book describing life in the corps.

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Precise as the watches of his homeland, Richard said it took him 2,962 hours to write the book when he was not guarding the entrances to the Vatican, protecting the pope, working crowd control, continuing his training or performing ceremonial duties at Masses and visits from heads of state.

In addition to the history of the Swiss Guard, the book includes a chapter on the rules governing the recruitment, training and discipline of the corps.

The current Guard has 110 male Swiss citizens, all of whom are Catholic and at least 5 feet 8 inches tall. They must have an impeccable reputation, be under age 30, unmarried when they begin their service and have served in the Swiss Army.

Richard's history mentions the 1998 murders of the Swiss Guard commander and his wife by a guardsman who then committed suicide.

"It is part of our history, so we had to face it," Richard told Catholic News Service. "But on the other hand, it should not be the only thing people talk about. It is one day in 500 years."

Unveiling plans for the anniversary celebration during a Nov. 22 press conference, Mader -- flanked by two guards in their traditional tri-colored uniforms -- said Pope Julius chose the Swiss mercenaries because of the Swiss "passion for war and, especially, for their respect for the church."

"The pontiff wanted to be able to count on a well-prepared corps of guards which would safeguard him at critical moments and which could become the permanent nucleus of a larger army to be formed in case of necessity," Mader said.

Between April 7 and May 4, more than 100 former guards will march from Switzerland to Rome, following the route taken by their predecessors in 1506.

The march was timed to allow the former guards to participate in the key moment of the anniversary celebration -- a memorial Mass and swearing in of new members on the May 6 anniversary of the fall of 147 guards, killed in action in 1527 while protecting Pope Clement VII during the sack of Rome.

Mader was asked if any thought had been given to changing the uniform of the guards, particularly after Richard's book definitively laid to rest the legend that Michelangelo designed the costume.

"It is not up to me to change the uniform of the Swiss Guard, which dates from the Renaissance and which the whole world recognizes," he said.

The commander also was asked - and not for the first time - whether the Guard ever would include women.

"I cannot imagine that we ever would have women in service," he said. "We live in a very small barracks, and there would not be room for women."

"The men are young," he said, "and I would not want to recruit problems" for discipline.

"Obviously, women are capable of providing security services. That is not the point. It is a matter of discipline," he said.

Mader said his men have a variety of reasons for seeking a place in the corps.

"It is a mix of motivations, although you will find in all of them a certain religious sensitivity" and a desire to serve the church, he said. Many of the young men say they want to learn another language and culture and meet people from all over the world.

While there is a sense of prestige and honor in being a guard, Mader said, "it is not like it was 30 years ago, when a guard would return home and be seen as one of the pope's men."

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