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Swiss Guard-the Vatican knights


When you walk around Vatican, you will see men with a fascinating costume. They are wearing a yellow-blue-red outfit with a black beret, and in most cases they are holding a spear. They are the Swiss Guard.
In 1505, Pope Julius II asked to send him mercenaries to protect his church. The summoned troop from countries like France and Swiss gathered in Vatican and joined a force to fight pope’s enemies. In 16th century, a riot occurred in Rome and mercenaries from Swiss in particular risked their lives to protect the Pope. Some died but the Pope was saved. After the incident, Julius II thanked the Swiss troop for saving his life and since then, the Roman Pope kept hiring knights from Swiss. This is the origin of the Swiss Guard.
Their duty is to guard the Pope and papal residence. When you are in Vatican, you can see them at the border gates between Vatican and Rome. In most cases, they are on duty so we should refrain from distracting them since wearing the costume, which has been in use for 100 years, means to them that they are working to the Holy Father (In their rule, they cannot go outside Vatican with the costume), but when you ask them for a photo, they are quite friendly and cooperative.  
Literally, members of the Swiss Guard are from Swiss. Those who want to join the guard in Vatican, they are required to meet the following requisites; Swiss Nationality (Of course it is the Swiss Guard!), Sexuality (Man), Religion (Of course it should be Catholic!), Age (at age from 19 to 30), Unmarried (but having a girlfriend seems accepted to a certain extent), Taller (the height should be above 174 cm), Two-year experience in military practice, Health…In sum, the Swiss Guard should be a young single man who is tall and healthy with military experience.

I have read an article about the Swiss Guard and it says that the Guards are very popular among girls. Joining the Swiss Guard is an honor to them (therefore, they call their work as “a calling”). Being in the Swiss Guard means that they are single, so they can be girls’ boyfriend candidate with a special honor. They are sincere catholic Christians, but not priests, so the guards are allowed to go for a date with girls on their holidays. When they marry and have a baby, the Pope himself will baptize the baby in Sistine Chapel, the main church for Vatican cardinals.
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