Vatican Prepares for Possible Women Swiss Guards
2022-05-06
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1A new housing center for the Vatican's Swiss Guard force will reportedly accommodate both male and female members.
2The purpose of the force is to guard the residence of Pope Francis, as well as all official entrances to Vatican City in Rome, Italy.
3Currently, only males are permitted to serve in the Swiss Guard.
4A Swiss organization is raising money to build the new housing center - also called a barracks.
5The organization signed an agreement with the Vatican's Secretary of State on May 4.
6An official with the Foundation of the Pontifical Swiss Guard told Reuters the agreement calls for the new barracks to have single rooms with private bathrooms.
7The barracks where the Swiss Guard now live is a shared space.
8The official, Riccardo Boscardin, said there were two reasons the new barracks will have the ability to separate Guard members.
9"One is because COVID hit when the project started and the second is the possibility of integrating women into the guard," he said.
10When asked about the possibility of women joining the force, Boscardin said, "this decision is not ours, but exclusively that of the Vatican and the pope."
11The rule requiring Guard members to be male goes back to the year 1506, when the force was created.
12Members must also be Catholic, unmarried and have Swiss citizenship.
13The 85-year-old Pope Francis has already named women to several high positions in the Vatican administration.
14In March, he introduced a new constitution that permits any baptized Catholic, including women, to head most Vatican departments.
15The Foundation of the Pontifical Swiss Guard is seeking to raise about $46 million to replace the current barracks, Boscardin told Reuters.
16He said work was expected to begin in January of 2026.
17That date was chosen so members would not be displaced during the 2025 Holy Year, when millions of visitors are expected to travel to the Vatican.
18Boscardin said the site of the current barracks will be kept or rebuilt exactly as it is now.
19He noted that the new barracks will look a lot like the existing one on the outside.
20But he said building a new, environmentally friendly barracks will cost much less than repairing the existing one.
21I'm Ashley Thompson.
1A new housing center for the Vatican's Swiss Guard force will reportedly accommodate both male and female members. 2The purpose of the force is to guard the residence of Pope Francis, as well as all official entrances to Vatican City in Rome, Italy. 3Currently, only males are permitted to serve in the Swiss Guard. 4A Swiss organization is raising money to build the new housing center - also called a barracks. The organization signed an agreement with the Vatican's Secretary of State on May 4. 5An official with the Foundation of the Pontifical Swiss Guard told Reuters the agreement calls for the new barracks to have single rooms with private bathrooms. The barracks where the Swiss Guard now live is a shared space. 6The official, Riccardo Boscardin, said there were two reasons the new barracks will have the ability to separate Guard members. "One is because COVID hit when the project started and the second is the possibility of integrating women into the guard," he said. 7When asked about the possibility of women joining the force, Boscardin said, "this decision is not ours, but exclusively that of the Vatican and the pope." 8The rule requiring Guard members to be male goes back to the year 1506, when the force was created. Members must also be Catholic, unmarried and have Swiss citizenship. 9The 85-year-old Pope Francis has already named women to several high positions in the Vatican administration. In March, he introduced a new constitution that permits any baptized Catholic, including women, to head most Vatican departments. 10The Foundation of the Pontifical Swiss Guard is seeking to raise about $46 million to replace the current barracks, Boscardin told Reuters. He said work was expected to begin in January of 2026. That date was chosen so members would not be displaced during the 2025 Holy Year, when millions of visitors are expected to travel to the Vatican. 11Boscardin said the site of the current barracks will be kept or rebuilt exactly as it is now. He noted that the new barracks will look a lot like the existing one on the outside. But he said building a new, environmentally friendly barracks will cost much less than repairing the existing one. 12I'm Ashley Thompson. 13The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 14_______________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16accommodate - v. to provide what is needed or wanted for something 17residence - n. where a person lives 18integrate - v. to combine two or more things to make something more effective 19exclusive - adj. not shared with everyone 20baptism - v. a religious ceremony held when a person officially enters a religion 21replace - v. to take the place of something else 22displace - v. to make someone or something leave their usual place or postition 23site - n. the place where something happens 24We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.