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[The Young Pope]

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[The Young Pope]

Pope Peter II's 'Balanced Reform' Agenda Underway!

Organised in 1850 and 1801 respectively, the Palatine Honor Guard (left) and Noble Guard (middle) were part of the Papal Military Corps alongside the Papal Gendarmerie and Swiss Guards prior to the Vatican II reforms and subsquent abolishment in 1970 by Pope Paul VI. Papal Zouaves (right) were formed in the later stages of the Italian Unification Wars and existed between 1861 to 1870. These units are now planned to be reintroduced by Pope Peter II.​

His Holiness Pope Peter II has known to be a 'centrist' or 'moderate' hardliner even before his Papal election back in April of 1995, offering opinions that generally praise the overall reforms achieved by the Second Vatican Council in order to bring the Church closer to the modern world whilst taking the opportunity to make a self-reflection. However, between these praises also contain words of criticism not unheard of from several conservative members of the Church, citing that some of these 'reforms' have damaged the essence of the faith or the fact that they're not necessary at all since they do have a function in one way or the other, despite claims of contributing a humble approach. It's the very reason as to why the Holy Father has initiated a so-called 'Moderate Reform' agenda that aims to bridge the gap between modernism and traditionalism that are sorely need towards each other within the Church, which includes the revitalization of the Papal court. It already began with His Holiness' Papal coronation and decision to occasionally wear the Papal tiara, which hasn't been seen in a few decades. One of these other measures include the reintroduction of the formerly abolished 'Palatine' and 'Noble' Guard units, alongside the temporary though reputable Papal Zouaves.

The Palatinate Guard was formed in 1850 by Pope Pius IX, who ordered that the two militia units of the Papal States be amalgamated. The corps was formed as an infantry unit, and took part in watch-keeping in Rome. The Palatine Guard were usually seen either when the Pope was in Saint Peter's Square, or when a head of state or other important visitors were received by the Pope. Members of the corps were part-time volunteers, who were not paid for their service, though they received an allowance for replacement or repair of their uniforms. The unit lacked modern weapons and the guardsmen received little training beyond drill in marching and presenting arms. The corps was also the only one in the service of the Vatican to have a full military band.

The Noble Guard was formed as a regiment of heavy cavalry. Conceived as the Pope's personal guard in 1801, the unit provided a mounted escort for the Pope when he moved about Rome in his carriage and mounted guard outside his apartments in the papal palaces. The guardsmen were also available for special missions within the Papal States at the behest of the pope. In the aftermath of the Papal States' abolition in 1870, the Noble Guard restricted its activity to the buildings and grounds of the Vatican. Though nominally still a cavalry unit, the unit had little opportunity to deploy on horseback in the limited confines of the Vatican, although two mounted troopers would accompany the papal carriage when the Pope was driven around the Vatican gardens. Recruits were drawn from noble families in Rome, although in the twentieth century requirements were relaxed in practice to allow nobility from other regions of Italy to join the corps.

The Papal Zouaves were mainly young men, unmarried and Roman Catholic, who volunteered to assist Pope Pius IX in his struggle against the Italian unificationist Risorgimento in the 1860s. They wore a similar style of uniform to that of the French Zouaves but in grey with red trim. A grey and red kepi was sometimes substituted for the North African fez. The regiment was truly international, and at one point numbered 4,592 men. At that time the unit was composed of 1,910 Dutch, 1,400 Irish, 1,301 French, 686 Belgians, 157 Romans and Pontifical subjects, 507 Canadians, 87 Prussians, 50 English, 32 Spaniards, 22 Germans from beyond Prussia, 19 Swiss, 14 Americans, 14 Neapolitans, 12 Modenese, 12 Poles, 10 Scots, 7 Austrians, 6 Portuguese, 6 Tuscans, three Maltese, two Russians and one volunteer each from the South Sea Islands, India, Africa, Mexico, Peru and Circassia.

Pope Pius XII wearing a Tiara and carried on a sedia gestatoria, 1955
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All of this would tie in with the sedia gestatoria, a ceremonial throne on which popes were carried on shoulders until 1978, and later replaced outdoors in part with the popemobile. John Paul II first refused to use it, evidently considering a Pope unworthy of being revered and honoured as such. John Paul II also started to dress down in other ways (for instance: no papal tiara). Pope Peter II however embarked upon it at the beginning of his pontificate and was firstly used in connection with the coronation, sparking praise and criticism from different ideological elements of the Church. His Holiness decided to adress this personally through a personal press release, shown here through an excerpt:

"There was a time where a Pope would – on certain and particularly solemn occasions – be carried on a sedia gestatoria. This was a kind of movable throne, splendidly adorned, offering the advantage of making the Pope visible by a large crowd whilst at the same time beautifully stressing his (literally) exalted position. It goes without saying that the entire exercise was not entirely “democratic”, but as the Church never was and never would be no one really cared for such matters. On the contrary, in former times – before egalitarianism started to infiltrate every aspect of public life – such shows of authority were expected, respected and not disliked at all. Men such as myself need symbols and something like a sedia gestatoria had a highly symbolic meaning...If you ask me, dear faithful, this is all very wrong (e.g abolishing old traditions like the sedia gestatoria). Men need symbols. They breath them. Few things are more natural and speak more directly to the human mind than the visual or aurial experience of power and authority. The Pope is powerful; he has authority. A lot of it, in fact, as we would be at a loss to find another person on the planet with the authority to remove or fire anyone of more than 400,000 employees of his organisation at will and with the only appeal given to…. himself; let alone a person with such a high moral authority over 1.3 billion faithful. Men need symbols and those in position of power and authority have always naturally availed themselves of various means to stress this authority and to make it visible, palpable, audible. There is nothing wrong with that"

Security experts such as the American Catholic John Doe also appear to be supportive towards reintroducing the sedia gestatoria for special occasions from a practical security viewpoint, shown here through a commentary he offered:

"The use of the sedia continued until very recently and many are unaware that the last pope to use the sedia was actually Pope John Paul I. While the abolition of this ancient form of transport may have since been considered appropriate in the context of the late 20th century and the need to democratise the appearance of papal ceremonies, the reality has left the Pope an isolated and vulnerable figure separated from the deacons ahead and the MCs behind, one who appears all too often like the figure in the Third Secret of Fatima: a victim walking alone simply waiting to be attacked...While there are bound to be some who would see the return of the sedia as yet another example of this Pope "turning the clock back", in fact not only would it save an elderly man's tired legs but it would allow more of the crowd to see him. Most importantly, it would actually insulate him from the kind of physical assault we saw at Christmas by virtue of the mob of people surrounding it (who could these days be swelled by Swiss Guards, the gendarme officers in suitably formal garb, as well as Palatine and Noble Guards) to work alongside the suited officers at the perimeter...Naturally, the risk of attack from a gunman or explosive device would still be present and indeed potentially magnified by the sedia but the use of X-ray machines at the entrance to the basilica and physical searches of congregants should by now be mandatory at such events to confront these risks which are no more heightened by the Pope presiding at Mass from an elevated platform, as he does, than from being carried in a chair."

As already mentioned in a subtle manner, the Guard units' requirements upon joining would have to be modified to cope with the late 20th century world filled with new security threats, with suggestions being mentioned as the Palatine Guard' recruitment process likening to the Italian Army, whilst the Noble Guard would emulate the Italian Corazziery regiment protecting the First Citizen of Italy. As for the Papal Zouaves, the sheer number of them wouldn't be able to be coped with in the Vatican City State alone and discussing solutions with the Italian government to potentially house a barracks would be prudent. These are all just speculations for now and one would need to wait and see for further updates from the Holy See itself. Pope Peter II has already emitted a loud voice within and beyond the Church for his unique approach to balancing modern and traditionalist values, and these initiatives have only signified the pontificate which will probably become one of the longest in history provided that the Lord grants him a long life to continue representing Christ on Earth acting as his most humble of servants.