Job Offer: Swiss Guard in The Vatican

Contrary to public opinion, entering the Swiss Guard as a halberdier does not mean you are entering an army. Switzerland and the Vatican agreed in the 19th century that the Swiss Guard was a police force as the Swiss constitution of 1859 forbade Swiss citizens to enter any foreign army.

But before you get there, maybe we should look at the small print that might prevent you from being admitted. (The following list might be incomprehensible to readers in the United Kingdom where you get sued for advertising for a Junior Hairdresser because of ageism, where Muslims handlers may sue a brewery for having to handle alcoholic beverages, and where ethnicity, age, religion, gender, and sexual orientation are more important than merit when looking for a job.)

Before you hurry to submit your CV for a secure job with a paid for uniform, follow my little checklist (I’ll follow the order as it is put out on the official webpage of the Swiss Guard): You have to be of Catholic Faith, a Swiss citizen, healthy, and of good reputation (meaning without prior criminal record). You must have completed training in the Swiss army and you must have finished college or have a professional diploma. You have to be male, unmarried, between 19 and 30 years old, and stand at least 175 cm (5’9”).

Image source

Once you have passed all these hurdles, you’ll learn many useful things and many that might be not so useful outside the Swiss Guard. As the main duty of a guard is the protection of the Popes life, the training includes full training as a bodyguard. If someone stays in service for a minimum of three years, Switzerland grants an internationally accepted diploma for security personnel.

The less useful things might include the handling of a halberd or three different ways of greetings. The most formal greeting is the genuflection. Until John Paul II changed the protocol, this form of greeting was the prerogative of the Popes. Nowadays it is only used during Holy Communion and in a special ceremony on Maundy Thursday. The normal VIP treatment these days is presenting the halberd; it is reserved for the Pope, cardinals, bishops, accredited ambassadors to the Holy See, and officers. The small salute is reserved for petty officers, recognisable priests, ambassadors not accredited to the Holy See, and gentlemen who lift their hat in greeting. If you are going to the Vatican for a visit, try out the latter, it works.

Image source

Once you leave the service, you are entitled to become a member in the organisation of former guards. From their homepage I garnered a few choice expressions: The dormitory of the newly entered halberdiers is called California. It is situated directly below the roof of the living quarters and gets very hot in summer, as hot as California seemingly. Napoli (Naples) on the other hand is the name of the penitents’ cell for guards being caught for misdemeanour. The name stems from explaining the absence of missing guards due to such penitence with them ‘staying in Naples’. And finally Hacking, for doing penitent work which is mainly the hacking of old uniforms to keep them from getting out of the Vatican.

And while you are a member of the Swiss guards, you are not permitted to marry except with the approval of the Pope. Permission will be withheld until you are 25, and you must be at least a petty officer to receive permission. At the same time you’ll have to promise to stay in service at least three years after marrying. These special rules having nothing to do with being a Catholic and everything with available space; the living quarters are just too small.

Image source

The exclusion of women from service, by the way is another thing directly linked to available living quarters. Halberdiers live in a medieval dormitory, and only senior halberdiers will eventually progress to the privacy of a room; a room they share with two others.