At 11:15am this morning, in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the members of the Corps of the Pontifical Swiss Guard who are beginning their service to the Holy See, along with their family members.
Mister Commander,
Reverend Chaplain,
Dear Guards,
Dear relatives and friends of the Pontifical Swiss Guard!
I am happy to meet with you on the occasion of this festive day of yours and I wish to express a warm greeting, especially to the new recruits, who have chosen to spend some years of their youth at the service of the Successor of Peter. The presence of your parents, relatives and friends, who have come to Rome to take part in these days of celebration, demonstrates both the affection of Swiss Catholics to the Holy See as well as the Christian education and good example through which these parents have transmitted the faith to their sons, the value of belonging to the Christian community and the meaning of ecclesial service.
As you do every year, today you remember the painful yet famous sacking of Rome, in which the Swiss Guards distinguished themselves in a courageous and indomitable defence of the Pope, to the point of sacrificing their own lives. Today you are not called to this heroic offering of your physical life, but to another sacrifice, no less arduous, namely, to serve the power of the faith. It is a valid barrier to resist the various forces and powers of this earth and, above all, he who is the prince of this world, the father of lies, who prowls around like a lion seeking someone to devour, according to the words of the Apostle Peter (1 Peter 5:8). You are called to be strong and courageous, sustained by faith in Christ and by His word of salvation. Your presence in the Church, your important service in the Vatican is an occasion to grow as courageous soldiers of Christ. The pilgrims and tourists who have the possibility to meet you remain edified as they discover in you, together with your characteristic professional composure, precision and seriousness also a generous Christian witness and holiness of life. May this be your first concern.
I would like to invite you to live the period you spend in the Eternal City with sincere fraternity, supporting one another in leading an exemplary Christian life, which is motivated and supported by your faith. I am sure that the strongest push to come to Rome, to carry out this service, was given to you in fact by your faith. In fact, the singular mission entrusted to you in favour of the Holy See and the Church has its source in Baptism, which enables you to witness faith in Christ, who died and rose again, where Providence puts you to live.
Dear Guards, feel yourselves an active part of the great People of God, missionary disciples committed to witnessing the Gospel in the environment in which you work and in the places where you spend your free time. This happens through little daily gestures, sometimes repetitive ones but gestures to which it is important to give ever-renewed meaning. Thus a style of conduct is formed that, within the Corps, is made up of mutual harmony and respectful communion with your superiors, and, on the outside, is expressed in hospitality, gentleness and patience.
I also hope that you will be able to value this stage of your life to take up some of the many possibilities of spiritual and cultural growth that Rome offers you. Saint Philip Neri, whose liturgical Memorial we will celebrate towards the end of this month, accompanied his youngsters in the discovery of traces of the ancient Christian communities, in the footsteps of the Saints. See, this is something that is very interesting: to go through Rome in the footsteps of many men and women Saints who lived in this City. And this will make your time in Rome even more unforgettable and rich in fruitfulness!
I take advantage of this occasion to renew to the entire Swiss Guard Corps my gratitude for the diligence and solicitude with which it carries out its precious activity at the service of the Pope and of the Vatican City State. I ask you to pray for me and, while I invoke upon you the protection of the Holy Virgin and of your Patrons Saint Martin, Saint Sebastian and Saint Nicholas of Flue — the sixth centenary of whose birth is observed this year) I impart to you my heart-felt Apostolic Blessing.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
addressed to newly-arrived members of the Swiss Guard
Mister Commander,
Reverend Chaplain,
Dear Guards,
Dear relatives and friends of the Pontifical Swiss Guard!
I am happy to meet with you on the occasion of this festive day of yours and I wish to express a warm greeting, especially to the new recruits, who have chosen to spend some years of their youth at the service of the Successor of Peter. The presence of your parents, relatives and friends, who have come to Rome to take part in these days of celebration, demonstrates both the affection of Swiss Catholics to the Holy See as well as the Christian education and good example through which these parents have transmitted the faith to their sons, the value of belonging to the Christian community and the meaning of ecclesial service.
As you do every year, today you remember the painful yet famous sacking of Rome, in which the Swiss Guards distinguished themselves in a courageous and indomitable defence of the Pope, to the point of sacrificing their own lives. Today you are not called to this heroic offering of your physical life, but to another sacrifice, no less arduous, namely, to serve the power of the faith. It is a valid barrier to resist the various forces and powers of this earth and, above all, he who is the prince of this world, the father of lies, who prowls around like a lion seeking someone to devour, according to the words of the Apostle Peter (1 Peter 5:8). You are called to be strong and courageous, sustained by faith in Christ and by His word of salvation. Your presence in the Church, your important service in the Vatican is an occasion to grow as courageous soldiers of Christ. The pilgrims and tourists who have the possibility to meet you remain edified as they discover in you, together with your characteristic professional composure, precision and seriousness also a generous Christian witness and holiness of life. May this be your first concern.
I would like to invite you to live the period you spend in the Eternal City with sincere fraternity, supporting one another in leading an exemplary Christian life, which is motivated and supported by your faith. I am sure that the strongest push to come to Rome, to carry out this service, was given to you in fact by your faith. In fact, the singular mission entrusted to you in favour of the Holy See and the Church has its source in Baptism, which enables you to witness faith in Christ, who died and rose again, where Providence puts you to live.
Dear Guards, feel yourselves an active part of the great People of God, missionary disciples committed to witnessing the Gospel in the environment in which you work and in the places where you spend your free time. This happens through little daily gestures, sometimes repetitive ones but gestures to which it is important to give ever-renewed meaning. Thus a style of conduct is formed that, within the Corps, is made up of mutual harmony and respectful communion with your superiors, and, on the outside, is expressed in hospitality, gentleness and patience.
I also hope that you will be able to value this stage of your life to take up some of the many possibilities of spiritual and cultural growth that Rome offers you. Saint Philip Neri, whose liturgical Memorial we will celebrate towards the end of this month, accompanied his youngsters in the discovery of traces of the ancient Christian communities, in the footsteps of the Saints. See, this is something that is very interesting: to go through Rome in the footsteps of many men and women Saints who lived in this City. And this will make your time in Rome even more unforgettable and rich in fruitfulness!
I take advantage of this occasion to renew to the entire Swiss Guard Corps my gratitude for the diligence and solicitude with which it carries out its precious activity at the service of the Pope and of the Vatican City State. I ask you to pray for me and, while I invoke upon you the protection of the Holy Virgin and of your Patrons Saint Martin, Saint Sebastian and Saint Nicholas of Flue — the sixth centenary of whose birth is observed this year) I impart to you my heart-felt Apostolic Blessing.
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