Little Swiss Guards to welcome Pope Francis at Manila Cathedral

Published January 7, 2015 1:24pm

Several young boys dressed as Swiss Guards will welcome Pope Francis when he arrives at the Manila Cathedral next Friday to celebrate mass.

The boys, aged 10 to 13, are students of the School of Our Lady of La Salette in Bulacan. A “Balitanghali” report aired Wednesday showed the so-called “Little Swiss Guards” practicing their formation at the Manila Cathedral’s steps.

The Swiss Guards, who have been dubbed as the “world’s smallest army” are tasked with protecting the Pope and his residence. They also accompany the pontiff on his travels.

The students will be wearing outfits patterned after the Swiss Guards’ uniform of red, blue and yellow when they greet the Pope upon his arrival at the Manila Cathedral on Jan. 16.

Msgr. Nestor Cerbo, the cathedral’s rector, said the presence of the little Swiss Guards aims to bring cheer to Pope Francis, who is known to have a fondness for children.

“[The presence of the little Swiss Guards] is our way of giving the Pope a warm welcome. Their appearance will help the Pope feel at home because he’ll think, ‘I thought Swiss Guards can only be found at the Vatican,’” he said.

A total of 2,000 bishops, priests and consecrated persons will join Pope Francis in celebrating mass at the Manila Cathedral, which will be held in Latin.

Due to the limited size of the venue, only 10 priests and members from each diocese will be allowed to hear the mass inside the cathedral. Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ Committee of Information and Media, however, assured that all dioceses in the country will be represented in the mass.

An article posted on cbcpnews.com last month quoted Cerbo as saying that Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II both celebrated mass at the Manila Cathedral when they visited the Philippines in 1970 and 1981, respectively.

“In 1981, the local Church received a rare gift from Pope John Paul II when he declared the Manila Cathedral as a basilica as an expression of his great love for the Filipinos,” he said.

Pope Francis will be in the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19. —Xianne Arcangel/NB, GMA News

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