11 WE ALSO HAVE A LONG HISTORY. AS YOU KNOW, THE SWISS GUARD, COHORS HELVETICA PONTIFICA IN LATIN, IS A SMALL MILITARY FORCE IN CHARGE OF ENSURING THE SAFETY OF THE POPE AND HIS RESIDENCE. SWISS MERCENARIES HAVE SERVED AS CLOSE SECURITY GUARDS IN SOME EUROPEAN COURTS SINCE THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY, BUT OURS IS THE LAST ONE TO EXIST! OTHER PONTIFICAL ARMED BODIES EXISTED, LIKE THE CORSICAN GUARD, WHICH WAS DISSOLVED IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. OTHER ONES—THE NOBLE GUARD AND THE PALATINE GUARD—WERE DISSOLVED BY PAUL VI IN 1970. BUT FOR US, IT ALL STARTED IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. Next to speak will be Peter Von Hertenstein, the archdeacon of the cathedral. Yes, and I carry the message of a voice much stronger and more powerful than mine. The Federal Diet of Switzerland, June 21, 1505
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