Five centuries of fidelity” “

“Appreciation”, “gratitude” and a “special apostolic blessing” for “their fidelity to the Church and to the successor of Peter” were expressed by Pope Benedict XVI to the Swiss Guards, who began the celebrations marking the fifth centenary of the arrival of their first contingent in Rome on 22 January. It was in fact on 22 January 1506 that the first 150 Swiss troops – after crossing the Alps and marching through Lombardy and Tuscany – entered the Eternal City through the Piazza del Popolo and raised their banner under the command of Captain Kaspar von Silenen from Canton Uri (Switzerland). It was Pope Julius II who had insistently called them to Rome for this service. The Corps is currently formed of 110 guards. The admission of women into the force has so far been “banned”. “LOVE THE CHURCH!”. “Defensores Ecclesiae libertatis”, defenders of the liberty of the Church, they were called by Pope Julius II himself. “In this regard – said Cardinal ANGELO SODANO, Secretary of State who officiated a Mass in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday 22 January, officially opening the celebrations of the 5th centenary of the foundation of the Swiss Guards – I am always reminded of the solemn oath, almost shouted out aloud, that you pronounce every 6 May in the Vatican to ‘faithfully, loyally and honourably serve the Supreme Pontiff and his legitimate Successors with all your strength, giving, if necessary, your own life for their defence'”. But to discharge such a service, love of the Church is necessary: hence the solemn appeal of Cardinal Sondano: “Dear members of the Swiss Guard – he said – in memory of the present celebration, I invite you increasingly to love the Church of Christ”. “It is this Church we too wish to love today; it is this Church we too wish to serve today”. AT THE GATES OF THE VATICAN. “Each day, at the gates of the Vatican, you encounter hundreds of people of every religion or no religion. Though there are many priests, male and female religious who work in the Vatican, the people who pass through the gates every day don’t see them; but they see you. For them you represent the Pope; you represent the successor of Peter; in fact you represent Jesus”, declared Monsignor JOHN PATRICK FOLEY, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, in his homily during the mass celebrated in the Vatican on 20 January, on the occasion of the 5th centenary of the Swiss Guards. “Twenty one years after the Swiss Guards entered the service of the Holy Father – recalled Archbishop Foley – 147 of you were killed as you were defending the Pontiff from the criminal troops of the emperor Charles V. Though they are not venerated as martyrs, since as soldiers they opposed resistance to death, in some sense we can consider them martyrs, since they gave their life to defend the successor of St. Peter”. A COLOURFUL HISTORY. The institution founded by Julius II has had a colourful history in its 500 years of life. Stories have accumulated about the everyday life of the Swiss Guards: such as the presence, discreet and faithful, of the Swiss Guards alongside a group of Poles in prayer in St. Peter’s Square until late into the night following the attempted assassination of John Paul II, or simple culinary memories like the “bettolino” (canteen) of the Swiss Guards, described even by Gabriele D’Annunzio as a place “where you ate well and drank even better”. THE CELEBRATIONS. To celebrate the 5th centenary of the founding of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, the solemn swearing in of the new recruits will take place, for the first time ever, in St. Peter’s Square on 6 May. In presenting the centenary calendar of events, Colonel ELMAR TH. MADER, commandant of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, said that the 6th of May would represent the culminating moment of the celebrations. The solemn swearing in will begin with a mass in St. Peter’s, probably officiated by the Holy Father, followed by the placing of a wreath in the Piazza dei Protomartiri Romani, the site where many Swiss Guards fell in their defence of the Pope during the Sack of Rome in 1527; the afternoon will be dedicated to the solemn swearing in of the new recruits. It will be the Pope himself who will give his blessing to the corps of the Swiss Guards on 7 May, following his Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square. The Vatican’s Philatelic and Numismatic Office has announced that in the first half of 2006, the traditional commemorative coin of the Vatican for a value of 2 euros will be dedicated to the Corps of the Pontifical Swiss Guards. The other events celebrating the 5th centenary will include an exhibition in the Vatican’s Charlemagne Wing, to be opened on 29 March, with the title “Pontifical Swiss Guards, 500 years: history-art-life”, and a commemorative march, from 7 April to 4 May, from Bellinzona to Rome: 700 km to be covered on foot along the ancient pilgrimage way, the Via Francigena, in 27 days. ———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1445 N.ro relativo : 5 Data pubblicazione : 25/01/06