The Swiss Guard is a military body tasked with protecting the pope. 135 men make up the Swiss Guard. Swiss Guard recruits must be a single man between the age of 19-30 who is a practicing Catholic ...

Wide blue and gold-striped pants that can seem almost clown-like. The Swiss Guard, the pope’s iconic bodyguards, look ceremonial but in the pageantry of the Renaissance-style uniform lies the ...

A group of new Swiss Guard recruits officially joined the ranks after swearing to “faithfully, loyally and honorably serve the reigning Pontiff” at the Vatican on Saturday. Wearing the red ...

The mission of the Swiss Guard, the oldest military corps in the world, is to ensure the security of the pope and protect the cardinals when the chair of Peter is vacant. But what happens when the ...

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — With a determined gaze, Renato Peter clenched the flag of the Swiss Guard in his fist while holding up three fingers of his other hand in a salute to the Holy Trinity.

Swiss Guards stand in formation at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Thursday, after the conclave elected Cardinal Robert Prevost as the next pope. (Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images ...

As the late Pope Francis greeted thousands of guests in Vatican City on Easter Sunday, the Swiss Guard was not far, watching over the pontiff as it has done for more than 500 years. At the age of ...