Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
A Swiss Guard stands watch as Pope Francis arrives for his general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican Sept. 22, 2021. Three members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard have hung up their halberds rather than be vaccinated against COVID-19, and three others were temporarily suspended in early October as they were completing the vaccination cycle, the spokesman for the guards told a Swiss newspaper. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Three members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard have hung up their halberds rather than be vaccinated against COVID-19, and three others were temporarily suspended in early October as they were completing the vaccination cycle, the spokesman for the guards told a Swiss newspaper.

Lt. Urs Breitenmoser, the spokesman, told Tribune de Genève that the three who left did so voluntarily.

Mandatory vaccination for those serving in the military, he said, is “a measure in line with those adopted by other armed corps around the world.”

While the Vatican has not made vaccination obligatory for all employees, beginning Oct. 1 anyone -- employees and tourists alike -- who wanted to enter Vatican territory was required to show either proof of vaccination, of recovery from COVID-19 or a negative COVID-19 test taken within the previous 48 hours.

Three members of the Pontifical Swiss Guard have hung up their halberds rather than be vaccinated against COVID-19

Without one of the three, employees are not allowed to work and will not be paid unless they have a note from a physician explaining why they could not be vaccinated.

Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test is not required to attend a liturgy in the Vatican or to enter St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday recitation of the Angelus.

Because of their daily interaction with the pope, elderly cardinals and the general public, members of the Swiss Guard were among the first people in the Vatican to be offered the vaccine.

The Pontifical Swiss Guard counts just over 100 men, all of whom are Swiss, Catholic and previously served in the Swiss army. They are responsible for guarding all entrances into Vatican City State as well as keeping watch over the pope and his residence in the Domus Sanctae Marthae. They also provide security and ceremonial services during liturgical events and the visits of heads of state and other dignitaries to the Vatican.

A dozen members of the corps tested positive for COVID-19 in October 2020. Because of their daily interaction with the pope, elderly cardinals and the general public, members of the Swiss Guard were among the first people in the Vatican to be offered the vaccine in January, when the Vatican began offering it to employees.

More: Covid-19

The latest from america

Paola Ugaz, a Peruvian journalist who helped expose the abuse committed by leaders of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, gives Pope Leo XIV a stole made of alpaca wool during the pope's meeting with members of the media on May 12 in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
Pope Leo XIV’s statement was read at the premiere of a play about the Peruvian investigative journalist Paola Ugaz, who was subject to death threats because of her reporting on sexual abuse.
Gerard O’ConnellJune 21, 2025
Bishop Micheal Pham, center, leads an inter-faith group as they enter a federal building to be present during immigration hearings on June 20 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
About a dozen religious leaders from the San Diego area, including Bishop Michael Pham, visited federal immigration court on Friday “to provide some sense of presence.”
In a time of increasing disaffiliation from and disillusionment with the institutional church, a new theological perspective on the church is needed—one that places Jesus’ own teaching at the center.
Roger Haight, S.J.June 20, 2025
This week on “Jesuitical,” Zac and Ashley are thrilled to speak with their friend and colleague Father James Martin about his new podcast, “The Spiritual Life with Fr. James Martin, S.J.”
JesuiticalJune 20, 2025