Swiss Guard and other

[dominikus28]

This isn’t really a religious question, but I was wondering, can a Swiss Guard be married? I know that to become a swiss guard, you have to be single, but can you get married later on?

Also, in St. Peter’s Square, along the roof tops on the sides, there are all these statues up there - are these just random statues of angels or what?

 

[Church_Militant]

They are soldiers and bodyguards, not clergy. However, here are their requirements.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/swiss_guard/swissguard/image/ammissione_en.jpg

 

[Church_Militant]

The statues are 110 saints.
sacred-destinations.com/italy/images/vatican/st-peters-album/piazza-statues-cc-notrivers-350.jpg

On top of the colonnade are 140 statues of saints, crafted by a number of sculptors between 1662 and 1703. To the right of the southern gate of the colonnade is St. Macrina, grandmother of the Cappadocian fathers, followed by some founders of religious orders: St. Dominic, St. Francis, St. Bernard, St. Benedict, and St. Ignatius of Loyola. Some of the apostles are at the far end of the colonnade, outside the square and down the street: look for Paul and John on the south side (on the left as you walk to the square). More details here.

 

[Verbum]

Hi dominikus,

Swiss guards can only marry if they can find an apartment within the Vatican. There were, some time ago, only eleven and officers have first pick.

See Inside the Vatican, by Bart McDowell, p. 106.

Verbum