The Pope’s Army: 500 Years of the Papal Swiss Guard

by Robert Royal

Crossroad, 2006

210 pages, $19.95

Available in bookstores

This year, the colorful Pontifical Swiss Guard is celebrating its 500th year of existence. Robert Royal, president of the Faith & Reason Institute in Washington, D.C., believes that it is “right that they be known a little better by a much larger number of people for the work they have done and continue to do, over and beyond the colorful presence they provide for visitors to Rome and Vatican City.”

Royal’s book is not just an informative history of the Swiss Guard, but a mini-history of the papacy and Europe since the 1500s. As he notes in his preface, “the history of the Swiss Guard is tied not only to the emergence of Switzerland and Western Europe, but especially to the changing fortunes and developing roles of the modern papacy.”

Royal balances religious insights, cultural details and military history with a tracing of the modern papacy’s development to show, in a cohesive narrative, that the Guard has played a key — if often quiet and little-known — role in the lives of numerous popes.

The history and activity of the Swiss Guard are more involved and intriguing than they might initially appear. For many centuries, beginning in the late 13th, the Swiss were considered to be the finest fighting men in Europe; they were often hired to be bodyguards for rulers of other countries. The Guard was originally formed under the directives of Pope Julius II, known as the “warrior pope.” The papacy in the early 1500s was fighting for its political life and required military power.

This idea may be offensive to modern sensibilities but, Royal explains, “The Church as an international actor seemed to almost everyone to need real independence to resist the perpetual threat of world powers. The Swiss Guard, along with other papal forces, afforded the pope one way to assure his own independence.”

Royal also notes that, even until recent decades, the Catholic Church, including the Vatican, has faced serious physical threats from totalitarian governments. The first century of the Guard’s existence was filled with turmoil and intrigue. This was followed by nearly 200 years (c. 1600-1800) of relative calm. Since then, the Guard has dealt with matters related to the Napoleonic Wars, the unification of Italy and the dark years of the two world wars.

All of the guards are Swiss, Catholic and militarily trained. There are 110 men in the corps, divided into three squadrons. They live in simple quarters and work long days; their work is not glamorous, nor is it merely part of Vatican pomp and circumstance. They face challenges unique among security forces. The Pope, of course, is one of the most well known men in the world, and his public appearances attract crowds. But, unlike presidents and prime ministers and many celebrities, recent popes have had little interest in maintaining distance from the public. The guards are not allowed to carry firearms openly and they are asked to maintain a discreet presence, especially at papal liturgies.

And, of course, during the past couple of years, they have dealt with the enormous throngs that came to honor and pray for John Paul II after his death. Just as demanding, but in different ways, were the intricacies and demands of the conclave that followed, which required very tight security and numerous procedures practiced only during that specific event.

In all of this work, the Swiss Guards embrace a unique vocation that will be better understood and appreciated by those who read this excellent history.

Carl E. Olson is editor of IgnatiusInsight.com.