Seasons of Grace
Daniel Anrig, commandant of the Swiss Guard, will no longer serve in that post, effective the end of next month.
That is the announcement which was published today in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s official newspaper.
Although no explanation was provided, The Telegraph reports that it’s widely believed Pope Francis prefers a “warmer, more inclusive style of governance” and found the commander’s manner overly strict and “Teutonic.” According to The Telegraph‘s Nick Squires, reporting from Rome:
The 77-year-old pope is said to have been appalled recently to have emerged one morning from his private suite of rooms to find that a Swiss Guard had been standing guard all night.
“Sit down,” he told the young guardsman, to which the soldier said: “I can’t, it’s against orders.”
The Pope replied: “I give the orders around here,” and promptly went off to buy a cappuccino for the exhausted soldier.
In October, the Pope was photographed shaking hands with a member of the elite corps, breaking years of protocol which demanded that pontiffs should treat the Swiss Guardsmen with aloofness.
It’s rumored that Pope Francis may name Christoph Graf, deputy commander, to the top post in the Swiss Guard. Graf is said to have a softer, more paternalistic style of command than does Anrig.
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The Swiss Guard was formed in 1506 by Pope Julius II. There are currently about 110 officers and men, all of Swiss origin, who serve as the Pope’s personal guards and the military service for the Vatican City-State. In 1527, some 190 Swiss Guards died defending Pope Clement VII during the sack of Rome. They led him along a stone path which connected St. Peter’s Basilica and the Apostolic Palace to the nearby Castel Sant’Angelo, which was heavily guarded.
I’ve often heard that the Swiss Guard’s colorful blue, red and gold striped uniforms were designed by the artist Michelangelo. I recently learned, though, that this is untrue. The designer was Commandant Jules Repond, who was inspired by the colorful frescoes by Raffaello. Repond designed the simple beret which, worn by guards still today, bears the soldier’s grade. He replaced the pleated gorget or throat-piece with a plain white collar. He improved the cuirass, the armor on the breastplate, and restored it to its original design.
I told the story of the uniforms last spring; you can read all about it here.
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