The article reports on the 33 new recruits of the elite Swiss Guard in Vatican City. The recruits oath their responsibility as Swiss Guards in the city on May 6, 2008. The celebration was part of a commemoration of the da...
Join the conversation FILE -- In this May 6, 2007 file photo, an unidentified Swiss Guard puts his helmet on the head of his girlfriend during a ceremony in the "Honour Courtyard" at the Vatican. The world's oldest standing army is getting some new headgear. The Swiss Guards plan to ...
Sworn to protect the life of the Pope at the risk of their own, the Swiss Guards narrowly escaped annihilation on the steps of St. Peter’s during the sack of Rome in May, 1527, when 1,000 German and Spanish soldiers stormed the Vatican. Three-quarters of the Swiss complement was destr...
The quasi-autonomy that the Swiss Canton had wasn’t to last long. In 1315, Duke Leopold I of Austria invaded Switzerland as part of a larger war over control of the Hapsburg throne. The size of Leopold’s army has varied greatly depending on the historian you are listening to. High-end...
Swiss Guards are a corps of Swiss soldiers responsible for the safety of the pope. Often called ‘the world’s smallest army,’ they serve as personal escorts to the pontiff and as watchmen for Vatican City and the pontifical villa of Castel Gandolfo.