When will the Swiss Guard be swearing in 32 new members?”
The Vatican’s Swiss Guards were swearing in 32 new recruits amid suggestions from their new commander that women might one day join their ranks. Col. Daniel Anrig said there might be logistical problems having women join the papal security force, since the barracks are tight as it is, but said such “problems can be resolved.” Anrig’s predecessors have vehemently refused to consider letting women join the corps, which for 500 years has been reserved to Swiss, Roman Catholic men of good standing. On Wednesday afternoon, the Swiss Guards will swear in 32 new recruits. The ceremony is held each May 6 to commemorate the 147 Swiss Guards who died protecting Pope Clement VII during the 1527 Sack of Rome. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1239710879224&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Vatican Swiss Guards carry a commemorative wreath during a celebration of the 1527
32 New Swiss Guards Promise to Protect Pope VATICAN CITY, MAY 6, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Today in the courtyard of the Vatican apostolic palace, 32 new recruits were added to the ranks of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, currently led by Commander Daniel Anrig. May 6 is the traditional swearing-in day for new guards because on that day in 1527, some 150 members of the Swiss Guard lost their lives during the sack of Rome, protecting Pope Clement VII and the Church from the onslaught of Emperor Charles V’s troops. Today’s events included a Mass for the recruits and their families, celebrated by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope’s secretary of state, in St. Peter’s Basilica. The swearing-in ceremony took place in the presence of members of the Roman Curia, diplomatic representatives and civil and religious authorities from Switzerland, including Major-General Andre Blattman, the new commander-in-chief of the Swiss armed forces.
Swiss Guard to swear in 32 new recruits May 05, 2009 The Swiss Guard will swear in 32 new members on May 6 in a ceremony held in the San Damaso courtyard of the Vatican’s apostolic palace. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, will preside at the ceremony, which traditionally takes place on May 6 in honor of the 147 members of the Swiss Guard who died on that date in 1527, defending Pope Clement VII during the sack of Rome.
