PONTIFICAL SWISS GUARD. - It is a corps of Swiss soldiers, in service in Vatican City (Cohors pedestris Helvetiorum a sacra custodia Pontificis).
As early as the 14th century some Swiss soldiers were in the service of the Holy See in the Papal State, as in the other States. In the 15th century mention is made of them in the various possessions of the supreme pontiffs.
Sixtus IV (1471-1484) attempted, it seems, several times to reach agreements with the federal States or the various Swiss States in order to carry out regular recruitments there.
Julius II then had the idea of forming a stable and disciplined corps of Swiss soldiers under the direct dependence of the Holy See for the immediate custody of the Sacred Person of the Holy Pontiff and of the Sacred Apostolic Palaces. In fact, on 21 June 1501, he communicated to the States «confederatis Superioris Alemanniae» that he had entrusted Pietro Von Hertenstein, «cubiculario nostro», with leading to Rome 200 Swiss soldiers for the custody of the Apostolic Palace, providing him and the captain Gaspare de Silinon with a pass for the journey. On 21 Jan. 1506, 150 Swiss soldiers arrived in Rome who, led by the two aforementioned, went through Porta del Popolo to Piazza S. Pietro, where the Supreme Pontiff blessed them from the loggia of Paul II. This date and this solemn entry are by now regarded by the P. S. G. as the regular foundation of the corps, whose fourth centenary was celebrated in 1906.
They immediately gave proof of their fidelity to the Supreme Pontiff, since in the sack of Rome of 1527, 147 of them fell.
The supreme pontiffs stipulated other capitulations or tacit renewals of the previous ones for the recruitment of the P. S. G. Several times they were discharged or disbanded, undergoing the vicissitudes of the Holy See.
Pius X, with a new regulation of 13 March 1914, reorganized the corps, which is composed of 6 officers (among them the commanding captain), a chaplain, 15 non-commissioned officers and 115 guards (halberdiers), chosen from among the natives of the Swiss Cantons, except Ticino. The task of recruiting and completing the corps is entrusted to the captain. The recruits swear on the company flag faithful service to the supreme pontiff and to his legitimate successors and, in the event of a vacant see, to the Sacred College of Cardinals. This oath is taken every year with a picturesque ceremony in the courtyard of the Belvedere in the Vatican Palace.
The commanding captain, who holds the rank of colonel, is a member of the noble pontifical antechamber and is by right a secret participating chamberlain of sword and cape (v.). The lieutenant and the second lieutenant with the rank of major are by right chamberlains of honor of sword and cape (v.). All the aforementioned officers and the chaplain are part of the pontifical household (v.).
Benedict XV, with a dispatch of the cardinal secretary of State of 20 May 1919, decided that the P. S. G. takes precedence over the Palatine Guard of Honor.
The P. S. G. is entrusted with the custody of the Sacred Person of the Supreme Pontiff. It then guards the pope's residence by day and by night, especially at the external entrances. It serves in all the papal chapels and in other functions and for this it receives orders also from monsignor majordomo. In time of vacant see it is at the orders of the cardinal camerlengo until the entry of the cardinals into the Conclave, which is guarded by it. From that moment until the election of the new supreme pontiff, the P. S. G. has as its superiors the cardinal heads of order and the marshal of the Conclave.
In the fundamental law of the State of Vatican City (7 June 1929) the direct dependence of the P. S. G. on the supreme pontiff was reconfirmed (art. 2), but it was further established that the governor of the State of Vatican City, for the purposes of security and police, may also request the assistance of the P. S. G. insofar as it is necessary (art. 7).
The P. S. G. still wears the characteristic costume, attributed to Michelangelo.
Bibliography5 works
Guglielmo Felici