Vatican postpones swearing-in for Swiss Guards

The Vatican is postponing the annual swearing-in ceremony for its new crop of Swiss Guards, a commemoration usually held each May 6 to honor the guardsmen who died while protecting the pope during the 1527 Sack of Rome. The Swiss Guards said Monday that due to the ongoing coronavirus emergency, the pomp-filled ceremony will now be held Oct. 4. Other commemoration will go ahead May 6, including a Mass in a Vatican church, but it will be celebrated with only a restricted few guests present.

Vatican City, a small city-state in the center of Rome, has been implementing its own version of lockdown that mirrors the measure imposed in Italy, the European epicenter of the pandemic. Pope Francis has been celebrating daily Mass to empty pews, and on Monday prayed for victims of domestic violence. Italian officials have said calls to domestic violence hotlines have declined during the lockdown, not because assaults are slowing but because victims are less able to call and get help.

Francis said: "Let's pray for families, may they go ahead with creativity, peace, and patience in this quarantine.".