..::Blessed Be God::..

+JMJ

Praised be Jesus Christ! Greetings to you and your holy angels! Well, some late night snooping and I have stumbled across the Swiss Guard website. So many cool pictures! Old and new alike! Also, it appears they have a flag! I cannot get a good look at it but I'll share a picture with it in it... It definatly has the Papal crest on it. The one of John Paul the Great to boot! Whoo hoo! There are tons of cool pictures, especially of the different uniforms. Gala, Gran Gala, Drill Uniform and tons of others! There is a link to postcards and you have to use some transliteration to figure out which link you should click to get to the post cards. But it is so awesome! Oh, and incase you were looking for a link, you can try here at: http://www.schweizergarde.org/
Make sure you click english as the language unless you prefer a foreign language. You also have to admit, they have some super snazzy pants. I'll include some more pictures because they are fun! I also threw in a postcard for your enjoyment! If someone could tell me who that Pontiff is, I'll think about giving you a cookie (or a little spiritual bouquet!)

What is it that really makes the Swiss Guard so fun? The pants? The Uniform as a whole? The requirements? The fact that they scolded one of the shutter bugs who came with us to WYD while they, the shutter bug, attempted to take a photo of them while still in St. Peter's? Who knows, but they protect our beloved Pontiff and they love him as much as we do and that is all that matters to me.

Now for some fun 'facts' from the Swiss Guard's site:

Swiss Guards are practising Catholics. They operate daily in the heart of the Roman Curia, continuously meet people on their pilgrimage to the Tomb of the Prince of the Apostles and participate in the liturgical celebrations inside the Vatican.

It is obvious that by their religious faith and practice, the Swiss Guards are the Holy Father's "visiting card".

Totally awesome. The Holy Father's 'visiting card.' Ha! I kinda like the sound of that...
Some more:

Those in charge of the Pope's security must have irreproachable reputations.

Now you know you can always trust a Swiss Guard ;)
Still more:

Anyone who wants to become a Swiss Guard had better decide early. Our Corps is a young one. Often, older recruits find it more difficult to integrate. We do not accept candidates who are over 30 years of age. However, under certain conditions, former Guards can return to the Corps.

Wow, this sounds a lot like a religious community! A lot like many cloistered communities! Crazy!
He he... still more... This is just fascinating!

The Guards are housed in double or triple rooms. At the beginning they are in dormitories.

The camaraderie between young unmarried men should not be undervalued.

A mixed Corps is not appropriate in our service and community life.

Hmmmm... that last one remind you of something else? This is all so cool! I think I might spend sometime in the future reading more about them. Definatly a very cool and I guess a little quirky (well, at least the uniform) part of our Catholic tradition. God bless you abundantly and be holy!

Lord, Thy Will Be Done!