Vatican City, May 4, 2010 / 14:48 pm
The Pontifical Swiss Guard plans to swear-in 30 new recruits during a Thursday ceremony which will also commemorate the 147 guards who died in the Sack of Rome.
Thursday’s ceremony will begin with a Mass for the guard, their families and friends in St. Peter’s Basilica. The Mass will be presided over by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
Following the Mass, a ceremony will take place in the courtyard of the Swiss Guard barracks.
Daniel Rudolf Anrig, Commander of the Swiss Guard, will lay a laurel wreath on the monument commemorating the 147 Swiss Guardsmen who gave their lives defending Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome in 1527. Archbishop Fernando Filoni, substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, will then confer military decorations on deserving members of the Guard.