VATICAN CITY — The commander of the Vatican Swiss Guard has ruled out the recruitment of women for the elite force that has watched over the safety of the pope for the last 498 years.
Col. Elmar Maeder held a news conference May 4 to talk about the swearing-in of 33 new recruits and plans for celebrations in 2006 of the 500th anniversary of the guard’s establishment.
Asked why the Swiss Guard remained entirely male although Switzerland’s army has had women members for several years, Maeder cited the Vatican’s all-male “ecclesial environment” as well as the expensive renovations to the barracks that would be needed to house women.
The Swiss Guard was established by Pope Julius II in 1506.
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