Gonzalo Sanchez |
Vatican City (EFE) of history.
In a week, about twenty will proclaim their sacred oath.
Inside the barracks, next to the door of Santa Ana, one of the few entrances in the Vatican walls, you can breathe the nerves prior to big occasions.
Some of these young Swiss soldiers, nearly all tall and pale-skinned, polish their helmets and metal breastplates, while others in pairs gird their armor, polish boots, or order their famous red, blue, and yellow uniforms.
Eleven, plus two drummers, rehearse the march in the courtyard under the stern gaze of a foreman who corrects every imperfection. “Don’t move like robots, listen to the music,” he indoctrinates.
the sack of rome
Their minds are set on an imminent date: May 6, when 23 men will become part of the oldest army in the world with a solemn ceremony in the Patio San Dámaso.
On that occasion, the “newbies” will swear an oath that has been repeated throughout the centuries.
“I swear to serve faithfully, loyally and honestly the reigning Pontiff and his legitimate successors and dedicate myself to them with all my might, sacrificing my life if necessary to defend them.”
The Guard has been under the orders of the Pope since 1506, when Julius II turned to these Swiss soldiers, who were already guarding other European courts, to gain a personal army.
However, May 6 is the most important date of the body. On that day in 1527, the German and Spanish troops of Carlos V sacked the Eternal City and besieged Clement VII, who supported France in the delicate balance of power in Europe.
The pontiff was protected by 189 Swiss, of whom only 42 survived, and thanks to them he was able to take refuge in the Sant’Angelo fortress by walking through a secret corridor over a wall.
Requirements and mission of a modern guard
The ravages of the “Sack of Rome” can still be seen in the bullet holes in the wall or in a graffiti left on a banker’s house by a German lasquenet: “Why can’t I laugh? We have made the Pope run ”, can still be read.
But another reminiscence of that convulsive time is the permanence of those committed Swiss soldiers in the Vatican.
At present, they have the mission of protecting the Pope, accompanying him on his trips, such as the one he is currently making in Hungary, controlling the entrances to the Papal State and taking care of the cardinals in a period of vacant see.
It is a “job” whose salary is paid by the Holy See and to which many Swiss boys sign up as “an adventure”.
Currently the contingent has 124 soldiers, although it can reach 135. The requirements include being male, Swiss, practicing Catholic, single, between the ages of 19 and 30, at least 174 cm tall, in good health and a “impeccable reputation”
The service lasts 26 months, of which two are training. Then, according to statistics, three out of four join the Swiss police or army and the rest go back to work or study.
And, as a curiosity, every year a priest leaves, perhaps inspired by so many nights on duty at the See of Peter.
“We are not monks”
However, they are not subject to the strictures of holiness. “We are not a monastery, we have a life. We are only soldiers who are here to defend the Holy Father”, alleges the new head of communication, Eliah Cinotti.
In fact, the soldiers, after their shifts, can go out to Rome, travel, make friends or even fall in love, although, yes, marriage is only allowed after five years of service and they even receive an apartment.
One of those who will put on the armor this May 6 is Danilo, he is 22 years old and before arriving in Rome he worked in logistics, “in a warehouse,” he sums up.
“I thought ‘if I don’t do it now I’ll never do it.’ Here was the son of a colleague of my father and for him, and after coming to see the work of the guards, I decided to start my adventure”, he explains under a helmet that does not hide his childish face.
Danilo acknowledges that military life already attracted him and recognizes the “good climate” inside the Swiss Guard stronghold, full of cantonal flags. “We are a family,” he says.
As he thinks about his future, he reaffirms his will to defend the Pope like so many others in the past. Only now he finds himself at the mercy of Francisco’s pranks who, after a long night on duty, ironically asked him how he had slept.