35 SWISS GUARDS TO BE SWORN IN TOMORROW

VATICAN CITY, MAY 5, 1999 (VIS) - Tomorrow afternoon 32 new Swiss Guard recruits, as well as the new commander, lieutenant colonel and captain, will be sworn in during a traditional ceremony that commemorates the heroic death of 147 Swiss soldiers who gave their lives in defense of Pope Clement VII on May 6, 1527.

This afternoon the new guards and their families will be received in audience by John Paul II. Tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, secretary for Relations with States, will celebrate Mass with the Swiss Guards, their family and friends. Thereafter military decorations will be presented to various members of the guard during a ceremony that will take place in front of their barracks.

The swearing-in ceremony will take place at 5:00 p.m. in the Saint Damasus Courtyard in the presence of Vatican officials and members of the Italian and Swiss armed forces.

The Pontifical Swiss Guard, founded by Pope Julius II in 1506, is made up of 100 volunteers recruited from all the Swiss cantons to defend the person and the residence of the Pontiff. Apart from serving within the Vatican, a number of guards always accompany the Pope on his journeys. The corps includes four officers, 26 non-commissioned officers, 70 halberdiers and 1 chaplain.
In a communique published yesterday afternoon, Commander Pius Segmuller states: "The principal innovation (in the Corps) regards the centralized enrollment of and professional examinaton of candidates, with psychlogical clarifications where necessary. The commander's final decision regarding an enrollee will thus be based on objective criteria."

He announced that tomorrow, May 6, "three new directives will enter into force which should help the guards to have better command of the regulations currently in force. These regard service order, disciplinary order and rulings on qualifications and promotions."

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