Several members of the elite Swiss guard, the Pope’s historic bodyguard force, have resigned in the wake of the Vatican’s vaccine mandate.
Since October 1st, there has been a strict requirement on those entering the Vatican to be in possession of a “Green passport,” which indicates that one has been fully-vaccinated, or recovered from Covid, or tested negative to the virus within the last 48 hours.
However, members of the Swiss guard, the oldest military corps in the world which is in daily contact with the Pope, are required to be vaccinated.
As a result, three guardsmen have voluntarily resigned to return to Switzerland, and a further three have been suspended from duty until they receive both vaccine doses, according to Italian news outlet Il Messaggero.
Vaticano, tre Guardie Svizzere no-vax si dimettono: non accettano l'obbligo di green-pass deciso dal Papa. Altre tre sospese
https://t.co/2Do5UEjycb— Davide (@DavPoggi) October 3, 2021
Lieutenant Urs Breitenmoser, a spokesman for the Guard, said he was supportive of the vaccine mandate for guardsmen.
“This measure corresponds to those of other armed forces in the world,” he said.
According to National Catholic Register, the guardsmen who resigned were young recruits and not career members of the honour guard.
Moreover, they say that as many as 30 Swiss Guards had initially resisted the mandatory jabs as recently as July, but most ultimately complied, including the Guards’ commander, Colonel Christoph Graf, who reportedly received it mere days ago after an unspecified alleged “threat.”
NCR has reached out to the Vatican for confirmation of these allegations.