Pope’s guards ditch heavy metal for plastic helmets
THE Swiss Guard has broken with centuries of tradition by adopting new helmets that are made out of plastic and created by a 3D printer.
The new helmets are lighter to wear and half the cost of the old metal ones.
Each PVC helmet is stamped with the coat of arms of Pope Julius II, who founded the private army of mercenary troops in 1506 and was known as “the warrior pope”.
The £740 headgear is also resistant to UV rays – guards spend much of their time standing outside the Vatican, halberds in hand.
The new helmets were presented by Cristoph Graf, the commander of the corps, ahead of an annual swearing-in ceremony today.
Thirty-two new recruits – all of them single Swiss Catholic men under the age of 30 – will join the force for a minimum of two years.
The Swiss Guard is famed as the smallest army in the world. The tiny force is responsible for the Pope’s safety and the security of the Vatican in general.
The guards wear distinctive striped blue, red and gold uniforms, adding a large white ruff, plate armour and an ostrich-plumed helmet for the most formal ceremonies.
Although they undertake their ceremonial duties with swords, halberds and pikes, they carry a range of modern firearms, including when they are deployed in plain clothes as the pope’s close bodyguard.
The guards have served more than 40 popes and swear an oath of allegiance that they will protect the pope’s life with theirs, if necessary.