Armor like a knight on horseback. A helmet with bright-colored plumes sticking out. Wide blue and gold-striped pants that can seem almost clown-like. The Swiss Guard, the pope’s iconic bodyguards, ...

ROME -- Pope Leo XIV presided Saturday over the swearing-in ceremony of 27 new Swiss Guards, lending some surprise star power to the pomp-filled ceremony as the corps struggles to find enough young ...

VATICAN CITY, — They’re some of the most recognizable figures in Vatican City, dressed in bright stripes and carrying ancient weapons. But behind the pageantry, the Swiss Guard is a modern security ...

Usually, the swearing-in ceremony is held on or near May 6 to commemorate the day in 1527 when 147 guardsmen died while protecting Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome. This year’s ceremony was ...