ARMATURA E GIURAMENTO DELLA GUARDIA SVIZZERA PONTIFICIA

The Swiss Guard provides its valuable service in the protection and defence of the Holy Father. It carries out a security mission in the heart of the Catholic Church. Tourists and pilgrims visiting Rome and the Vatican usually stop to admire the Swiss Guards and like to have their picture taken with them. They are struck," writes Cardinal Kurt Koch in the preface, "by the beauty and splendour of their uniforms, especially when, on very solemn occasions such as the swearing in of the new Guards, they put on their helmets and armour". This inner splendour is revealed by the chaplain of the Guard, Thomas Widmer, in his reflections on the occasion of the swearing-in on 6 May. The aim is to offer some spiritual insights, based on individual elements of the Guard's uniform, its armour, and inspired by the armour of God as described in the sixth chapter of St Paul's letter to the Ephesians.
The text is bilingual: Italian and German.