Vatican City, May 6, 2017 / 10:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As 40 new Swiss Guards take an oath to defend and protect Pope Francis, their commander has emphasized that their role is not only to be a security force, but has a spiritual aspect as well.
“If someone in the (job) interview only talks about security and doesn’t know who they are giving security for…for me he is not a candidate,” Christoph Graf, Commander of the Swiss Guard, told journalists May 5.
“For me a candidate must have a foundation in the faith, to be a practicing Catholic” who goes to Mass and prays, he said, adding that if a young man knows nothing of the faith, “I don’t know what he’s looking for (in the Swiss Guard).”
Because of the army’s ties to the Pope and to the Church, he said having a solid faith life is “fundamental,” and explained that it’s even possible “to help some on the path of faith” if they have only a minimal knowledge.
In addition to being a line of defense for the Bishop of Rome, the Guard must also be “missionary,” he said, saying they must protect the Pope “with weapons, but also the faith. With prayer.”
Graf, who has served as the 35th Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard since 2015, spoke at a press conference a day ahead of the official swearing-in of 40 new Swiss Guards, who take a special oath to defend and protect the Pope.
With roughly 100 applicants for 30-35 spots each year, competition to be a Swiss Guard is tough, Graf said – there is a process of filtering the candidates in order to ween the list down to 40 or 50 people, who come to him for a final interview.
After speaking with each of them for 15-20 minutes, “you know” who the real candidates are, he said.
Those who are accepted serve for a minimum of two years, but can also stay in service for an additional year or two, which was the case for many guards during last year’s Jubilee of Mercy.
With a motto of “Courage and Loyalty,” the Pontifical Swiss Guard currently has just over 110 members, making it the smallest, though oldest army in the world.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”es” dir=”ltr”><a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Vaticano?src=hash”>#Vaticano</a>. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/GuardiasSuizos?src=hash”>#GuardiasSuizos</a> preparándose para su ceremonia dónde jurarán fidelidad al Papa. Fotos: <a href=”https://twitter.com/aciprensa”>@aciprensa</a> <a href=”https://t.co/Cx3bO3wMjZ”>pic.twitter.com/Cx3bO3wMjZ</a></p>— Daniel Ibáñez (@dibanezgut) <a href=”https://twitter.com/dibanezgut/status/860865593112711168″>May 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The official swearing-in ceremony takes place each year on the anniversary of the May 6, 1527 battle that has come to be known as the Sack of Rome, and which was the most significant and deadly event in the history of the Swiss Guard.
In the course of the battle, 147 guards lost their lives while fighting the army of the mutinous Holy Roman Empire in defense of Clement VII, who was able to escape through a secret passageway leading from the Vatican to Castel Sant’Angelo, which sits next to the Tiber River.
As part of the schedule this year, the family members of the new guards prayed Vespers the evening of May 5 in the church of Santa Maria della Pieta in the Vatican’s Teutonic College. Later, the “deposition of the crown” ceremony took place in commemoration of the guards who died during the Sack of Rome.
Before taking their official oath in the afternoon, the guards had 7:30 a.m. Mass with Cardinal Gerhard Muller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.
They then met with Pope Francis before getting ready for the swearing-in ceremony, which took place in the San Damasco courtyard of the apostolic palace and was attended by Graf and representatives of the Swiss Army and the Swiss government, as well as the Bishops Conference of Switzerland.
During the event, each new recruit approaches the flag of the Swiss Guard when his name is called out. Firmly grasping the banner with his left hand, the new guard raises his right hand and opens three fingers as a sign of his faith in the Holy Trinity.
As he holds up his fingers, the guard proclaims this oath: “I, (name), swear diligently and faithfully to abide by all that has just been read out to me, so grant me God and so help me his saints.”
In English, the full oath reads: “I swear I will faithfully, loyally and honorably serve the Supreme Pontiff Francis and his legitimate successors, and also dedicate myself to them with all my strength, sacrificing if necessary also my life to defend them. I assume this same commitment with regard to the Sacred College of Cardinals whenever the see is vacant. Furthermore, I promise to the Commanding Captain and my other superiors respect, fidelity and obedience. This I swear! May God and our Holy Patrons assist me!”
In comments to CNA, one of the new guards, Filippo Inches, spoke of the connection between his service and the faith, saying that “without doubt my faith has increased and has been fortified.”
“Because living 24/7 in this environment, in the context of the Vatican, surrounded by all these monsignors, archbishops and the Pope himself; participating at least one or twice a week in one of his events, listening to his preaching – inevitably and involuntarily something sticks,” he said.
Inches, who has served as a Swiss Guard for the past 11 months, is from the small Swiss town of Vacallo, which sits on the border with Italy, just 37 miles north of Milan. He took his official oath to protect and defend Pope Francis alongside 39 other guards this year.
By serving in the small army, “you also realize increasingly how important the role of the Church is as an institution,” he said, suggesting that while the Church is often criticized from the outside, being on the inside shows a different story.
“On the inside, you are aware of how many efforts are made to seek for dialogue, and peaceful solution to the various controversies and conflicts, whether on a political level, an economic level, cultural with different forums and also at the scientific level,” Inches said.
The guard explained that he had wanted to join ever since he was young. He traveled to Rome often as a child, where he always noticed the Swiss Guard, but it wasn’t until he was studying humanities in university that he decided to jump into the “adventure” of becoming one.
He said that for him, defending the Pope means “being a part of history” given the army’s ancient roots.
“So belonging to this corps I am very proud,” he said, “you see the universality, both of the Church and of history.”
Inches said he has had the opportunity to see the Pope and speak with him on several occasions during events or while standing guard outside his room.
“It can happen that he greets you, extending his hand and exchanging some joke,” he said, adding that what moves him most is when he sees the Pope coming in and out of his room, because “he gives this look like there is always a certain familiarity between him and the guards.”
In his speech to the guards and their families before the official swearing-in ceremony, Pope Francis told the guards that while they might not be called to give their lives like the 127 who died during the Sack of Rome, they are called “to another sacrifice no less arduous: to serve the power of faith.”
“This is a true barrier to resist the various strengths and powers of this world and above all he who is the ‘prince of this world’,” the Pope said, telling the guards they are called to be “strong and valorous, sustained by faith in Christ and by his Word of salvation.”
He invited them to live their time in Rome with “sincere brotherhood,” supporting each other in an exemplary Christian life that is “motivated and supported by your faith.”
“I’m sure that the strongest push to come to Rome to fulfill this service was given to you precisely by your faith,” he said, explaining that their mission comes primarily from their baptism, which allows them to bear witness to their faith in Christ.
He urged them to practice charitable service toward one another, being “missionary disciples” in the daily tasks which might seem repetitive, but to which “it is important to always give new meaning.”
During his speech at the swearing-in, Graf noted that this year marks the 600th anniversary of the birth of one of the patron saints of the Swiss Guard, St. Nicholas of Flue, known as the “defensor Pacis et pater patriate,” or, “the defender of peace and the father of our country.” Other patron saints are St. Martin and St. Sebastian.
Graf encouraged the guards to look to Scripture and the lives of the saints for examples of how to give their lives generously and with humility, saying “whoever wants to successfully guide must first learn how to love people.”
He pointed to various economic and political crises taking place throughout Europe, including those of poverty, unemployment, terrorism, migration and “a growing Islamophobia,” which are causing “a certain sense of impotence and disorientation.”
“Must not a cause for this crisis also be sought in the growing disappearance of faith, in the growing lack of God?” he asked.
“Wake up, dear Christians!” he said. “The present world has a new need for examples, especially in our Europe.”
“The present world needs simple and humble people who live and bear witness to the faith. People who carry out their daily duties with love, who pray and do penance,” he said, asking for both prayer and fasting, saying “you will be surprised at what you can do with that.”
[…]
“We follow the evangelical spirit of ‘becoming all things to all people.’ We effectively adapt to society, serve it, adhere to the direction of the sinicization of Catholicism, and preach the Good News” (Bishop Yang). Sounds fine, if it were not for the replacement of Christ with Xi Jinping written on Church placards, the incorporation of Marxist ideology replacing sections of the Gospels. Bishop Yang probably thinks Yang is interchangeable with Yin. As His Holiness said when in Japan they just think differently out yonder.
The Vatican II train wreckage keeps piling up. Aggiornamento – the Freemasonic call from Pope Roncali to update the Church – is to blame for each carriage that smashes into the next. The carnage will continue until Rome publishes the Gagnon Report*, admits to Freemasonic infiltration, and the abrogation of Vatican II and Post-Conciliarism is announced.
Tragically, there are plenty more carriages to go. The war on Tradition will extend to All Tradition, until there is nothing left. Committed Post-Conciliar catholics will gradually wake up.
* Fr Charles Murr, ‘Murder in the 33rd Degree”
My fellow catholics, please take note….the Bishops from China did say “The Church in China is the same as the Catholic Church in other countries of the world: we belong to the same faith, share the same baptism, and we are all faithful to the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.”…..But they never never, never said they sworn obedience to our Pope, the Chair of Saint Peter……the Vicar of Christ……
Fr. Peter, could you please give us specifics on the incorporation of Marxist ideology replacing sections of the Gospels.
I also have heard that this is taking place and would like confirmation of it, if possible. And if it is true, as has been reported, how could the Vatican possibly renew this deal without betraying the Gospel?
Also wish the the Vatican would be forced to disclose any payments made by China to it in connection with this deal.
“Synod, Zen and sinicization: Vatican’s China deal sparks tensions” – just as anyone with the smallest amount of common sense would have been able to predict. I suspect that one who is an authoritarian personality type is incapable of seeing the dangers lurking in totalitarianism. I hate to say “We told you so” but we told you so.
In the article by George Weigel, he states that the accord of Cardinal Parolin (and I add Pontiff Francis and their agent Theodore McCarrick) is “perverse.”
It is good that he comes right out and states that, because it is perverted.
People like myself who lived in the AD of Washington DC under McCarrick may recall the diocesan news accounts of McCarrick’s repeated trips to China while Archbishop of DC. The diocesan news reported on these trips with a sense that the faithful should be encouraged that McCarrick was (somehow) a mover and shaker on the world stage, and of course it was always left unsaid what business it was for the Archbishop of Washington DC to be spending his time repeatedly traveling to China. And as we now know, McCarrick also “had work to do that required traveling to China” as Archbishop of Newark and before that as Bishop of Metuchen, NJ.
It’s all part of “the sacred mysteries” of the Vatican Secretariat of State, which before Pope Paul VI the Catholic Church considered a secondary bureaucracy in the Church, in ages “un-modern,” when the Vatican’s organization was aligned with its priorities, and the Congregation for the Faith was for centuries the foremost Congregation.
Some years ago, somewhere (I can’t remember where) in the Catholic blogosphere, a commenter noted, in a discussion about The Vatican’s Secret Accord with The Communist Party of China, that they were years before present at a talk at the Catholic Information Center in DC, where then-Cardinal McCarrick was invited to give a talk, right before his “retirement” from DC, and he shocked the audience by going off topic and announcing “it was time” for the Catholic Church to formally recognize the Patriotic Catholic Church in China, and cease favoring the underground Church (represented by Cardinal Zen and other faithful Bishops).
Perverse and perverted, as we all now know.
Cardinal Zen has publicly stated that Cardinal Parolin, who is still considered a viable candidate for Pontiff, is a corrupt man.
It’s fair to say that the 50 year “Pauline reorganization” of the Vatican “has born its essential fruit,” which is: “to pervert the Catholic Church.”
Perhaps our Catholic “leadership” should consider this option after the Pontiff Francis finishes his time in service: if our Church exists to serve the truth and profess the Faith, then let its organization reflect that priority, get rid of the “Pauline-Francis” Vatican organizational priorities, cease the subordinating the Faith in favor of politics, restore the primacy of The Congregation for the Faith, and subordinate the Secretariat of State to its secondary status, where it belongs.
The future does not look much better: the Pope will have 21 new Cardinals promoted by him. He is consolidating his legacy preparing the election of one like him or worse.
What are the chances of the lavender mafia reforming the lavender mafia?
Synodal Superlodge project – the democratisation of the divinely founded hierarchical Institution – is launched. External pressure will ensure it continues, so that post-conciliar Ecumenical New Church can be definitively subsumed into the NWO system.
This is the final phase of the anti-Catholic war on All Tradition waged from within?