Swiss Guards: Church in microcosm

From the VIS press release SWISS GUARDS: SERVE WITH YOUTHFUL ENTHUSIASM, His Holiness addressed the newest 31 recruits of the Swiss Guards on the annual day of the Guards, when new recruits are sworn to serve the Pope and the College of Cardinals during periods of the Vacant See.

Benedict XVI in his comments remarked:

"In the person of the Pope," he concluded, "you serve the entire Church; put your youthful energy, and your interior vitality and freshness at her service. Looking at you, dear friends, I remember what I said during the inaugural liturgical celebration of my pontificate: 'the Church is young. She holds within herself the future of the world and therefore shows each of us the way towards the future.' You, dear guards, can and must provide an example and a living witness of this."