The Swiss Guard is a highly-skilled army of professionals, and their modern weapons include the SIG P220 (P75), Glock 19, Steyr TMP, Heckler & Koch MP5A3, Heckler & Koch MP7A1, SIG SG 550 and SIG SG 552. Their Michelangelo-designed uniforms are colorful their swords and halberds are at the ready but they’re also a well-organized militia and are trained to use an arsenal of modern weapons. In 2006, the last year for which I found a firm number, there were only 135 men serving in the Pontifical Swiss Guard, which has as its task defending the Pope.īut the men who guard the small City-State and the pontiff are not just beefy window-dressing at the Wednesday General Audience.
But the Pontifical Swiss Guard has no ships, no airplanes or jets, no modern weapons.Īt roughly 109 acres (.2 square miles), Vatican City is the smallest nation in the world. To which I want to say, “Hurray!” It would be great to believe that everything is under control in Vatican City, and the Pope and all his cardinals and staff are safe. The Swiss Guard is on high alert, after blustering threats from ISIS to attack Rome or, more likely, the worldwide Roman Catholic Church. “We are ready to intervene,” said Christoph Graf, head of the Pontifical Swiss Guard who is charged with defending the Holy Father against attack. There are hundreds of hysterical responses, too many for me to share here.īut seriously, is the Vatican really capable of resisting an attack by militant Muslims? ISIS may have meant it for ill, but the Romans are having none of it. You should check out the hashtag #We_Are_Coming_O_Rome. Italians have offered tongue-in-cheek warnings about Rome’s snarled traffic, and some have posted helpful menu advice: where to get the best pork, for example. Some have taken off on the “Gladiator” theme to assure the invaders that the Italians are more than ready: Some Italians have reminded ISIS that it didn’t turn out so well the last time they attacked, when the Muslim suffered some significant losses in the Battle of Lepanto. Some, like Guido Tresoldi, noted that they had also enjoyed too much pizza, and that there had been some nasty health effects.Īnd oh, there’s more! They joke that the fearsome warning by ISIS has compelled the Mona Lisa to convert to Islam.
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