Swiss Guard welcomes 30 new members to elite force

Vatican City, May 6, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).-

The Pontifical Swiss Guard swore in 30 new recruits during a ceremony on an overcast Thursday evening at the Vatican. The event also commemorated the 147 guards who died defending the Pope during the Sack of Rome in 1527.

Gathering at 5 p.m. in the San Damaso courtyard under the threat of rain, the Swiss Guard held its annual swearing-in ceremony. Vatican Radio reported on Thursday that the 30 new “halberdiers” who enlisted in the last 12 months made their final vows during the ceremony. As part of the ritual, the new recruits lined up and raised three fingers in the air – a traditional sign of oath to the corps.

On Thursday morning, the guard, their families and friends attended a special Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, which was presided over by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's Secretary of State.

“The Pontifical Swiss Guard is characterized by the willingness of its members to place themselves in service of the Supreme Pontiff, to provide for the particular care of His person,” Cardinal Bertone said at Mass earlier in the day. This willingness, added the prelate, is something that “you – dear Swiss Guards – have expressed as Christians, that is, motivated by love for Christ and for the Church.”

“For this we are gathered here in the Eucharistic celebration: to pronounce our thanks to the Lord for your generosity.”

“Yours, dear friends of the Swiss Guard, is a skilled and appreciated service, that demands dedication and seriousness,” Cardinal Bertone said. “Being Swiss Guards means always adhering without reservation to Christ and the Church, with the willingness to spend every day of your life for this noble mission.”

The Swiss Guard is an elite force charged throughout the centuries with the task of safeguarding the Pope. The recruits, per guard requirements, must be between 19 and 30 years old, faithful Roman Catholics and Swiss citizens. Guardsmen commit to serving a minimum of 25 months, after which they can chose to leave or be promoted to sergeant.

Among those present at this year's swearing-in ceremony were Doris Leuthard, president of the Swiss Confederation, and Peter Stutz, chief-of-staff, who represented the Swiss army. Also participating as guests of honor was the council of the Canton of San Gallen.

Marriage is instrument of salvation for society, declares Benedict XVI

Vatican City, May 5, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).-

Welcoming future participants in the Congress on the Family, which will take place in Jonkoping, Sweden from May 14-16, the Holy Father taught on love and marriage on Wednesday. Through the love present in marriage, he said, we are given an idea of the love that awaits us in Heaven.

The Pope’s words on marriage came during his English-language greeting of the general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

The message of the congress to the world is one of joy, said the Holy Father, “because God’s gift to us of marriage and family life enables us to experience something of the infinite love that unites the three divine persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

Noting that “human beings, made in the image and likeness of God, are made for love,” he proposed that through the love between spouses, parents and children and siblings “we are offered a foretaste of the boundless love that awaits us in the life to come.

“Marriage is truly an instrument of salvation, not only for married people but for the whole of society,” he underscored.

He went on to explain that “like any worthwhile goal,” it is demanding, challenging and calls us to sacrifice for the good of another while also inviting us to “nurture and protect the gift of new life.”

The stable family, the Holy Father added, is the “first and most fundamental school for virtuous living and the qualities of good citizenship.”

The Diocese of Sweden’s congress aims to shed light on “Love and Life” through the three days of prayer, discussion and addresses. The talks will focus on God’s plan for men and women in marriage, the rights of children and social changes and challenges for Christian families today. Programs for children and youth have also been organized for the congress.

Pope Benedict concluded his message to participants by encouraging all people to “promote a proper understanding and appreciation of the inestimable good that marriage and family life offer to human society.”

Priests make God’s saving work present on earth, teaches Pope

Vatican City, May 5, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).-

“As ministers of Christ, priests bring us into life-giving contact with the mystery of God’s holiness,” the Pope said during the general audience on Wednesday. It is through their celebration of the sacraments, he taught, that they make Christ’s sanctifying work “present and effective” in the world.

Pope Benedict XVI appeared to be in good spirits as he addressed the approximately 15,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square on an overcast morning, punctuated periodically by drops of rain.

After speaking briefly of the Holy Shroud, which he said "can nourish and feed the faith and reinvigorate Christian piety," the Pope returned to the figure of the priest for the third time in his Easter season series of catecheses. This time, he spoke on the numerous tasks of the priest, especially his ministry of sanctification.

“Holiness, as we know, is proper to God, who is himself absolute truth, goodness, love and beauty,” he said, noting that it is priests, as ministers of Christ, who “bring us into life-giving contact with the mystery of God’s holiness.”

By proclaiming the Gospel and celebrating the sacraments, the priest provides us with the possibility to “approach God and to be transformed gradually in the divine image.” Particularly through the Eucharist and Confession, the Holy Father taught, priests make Christ’s sanctifying work “present and effective” in the world.

Moreover, it is through the sacraments that they “sanctify the faithful and are themselves sanctified and configured ever more closely to Christ,” he underlined.

Speaking directly to priests, Benedict XVI said that just as it is important to teach and help the faithful to understand the sacraments' value, it is also necessary that they be "willing, generous and attentive in giving the faithful the treasures of grace that God has placed in our hands, treasures of which we are not masters but custodians and administrators."

The Holy Father concluded his catechesis by asking for prayers for priests and their “ministry of sanctification,” that they be “true shepherds according to God’s heart.” He also exhorted the faithful to realize the great gift that they are for the Church and the world.

This year, by decree of the Pope, the Church celebrates the Year for Priests, inaugurated on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus June 19, 2009 and to close on June 11, 2010. The stated purpose of the Year is to “deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel in today’s world.”