Pope thanks Swiss Guard, bids new recruits be wary of 'spiritual attack'

May 06, 2011

Pope Benedict XVI met on May 6 with 34 new members of the Swiss Guard, and encouraged them to use their terms in Rome “to widen your cultural, linguistic, and above all spiritual horizons.”

The Pope told the recruits and their families of his “profound gratitude for your decision to be, for a period of time, at the disposition of Peter’s Successor.” He spoke to the group just before their swearing-in ceremony.

The Pope told the new members that they should strive for a deeper Christian faith as they carry out their duties. Recalling how the Swiss Guard saved Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome in 1527, he reflected that today “there exists the threat of an even more dangerous pillage, one that can be called a spiritual attack.”

 

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Further information:

• Swiss Guards: Witness to Faith through Coherent Conduct (VIS)