(6 May 2003)
1. Wide shot sunlit shot of the Vatican
2. Interior changing room and Swiss Guards putting on uniforms
3. Various of Swiss Guards being dressed
4. Ceremonial halberds
5. Table with Swiss Guard hats
6. Close up cannon and guards walking
7. Side shot guards marching past
8. Top wide shot San Damaso Courtyard and swearing-in ceremony
9. Mid shot ceremony as guard holds flagpole and swears allegiance
10. Guards watching ceremony
11. Guards passing each other during ceremony
12. Audience including bishops
13. Audience including families of new Swiss Guards
14. Next guard to be sworn in (first non-white guard, Dhani Bachmann) steps forward
15. He holds flagpole and gives oath of allegiance
16. Top shot ceremony
17. Another Swiss Guard holds flagpole and takes oath
18. Wide top shot swearing-in ceremony
STORYLINE:
New Swiss Guards dressed in brightly coloured uniforms and metal armour attended a special ceremony in the Vatican on Tuesday and swore their allegiance to the Pope.
The ritual takes place every year on May 6, during which the new Swiss Guards swear they will sacrifice their lives for the safety of the Holy Father.
This year 33 new recruits took part.
May 6 is the anniversary of the day in 1527 when 147 Swiss Guards died while protecting Pope Clement VII (the seventh) during the sack of Rome.
For the event, the guards dress in their bright yellow and blue striped uniforms with boots, white gloves and heavy metal helmets with crimson plumes.
As the recruits marched in, the guard's band played both the Papal Anthem and the Swiss National Anthem.
One by one they marched up, grasped the Swiss Guard banner with their left hands and held up three fingers on the right hand to symbolise the father, son and holy spirit.
Each new recruit then swore "to serve the supreme pontiff John Paul II and his legitmate successors, sacrificing my life to defend them if necessary."
A press release issued by the Swiss Guards noted that for the first time this year a non-white guard was taking the oath of service to the Pope.
The guard's name is Dhani Bachmann - a man of Indian origin who was adopted by Swiss parents and grew up in
Switzerland.
The new recruits must have completed mandatory Swiss military service, be Catholic, aged between 19-30, have an impeccable reputation and agree to sign up for at least two years.
German is the official Swiss Guard language, but many of the guards are fluent in four languages: German, Italian, English and French.
When they appear on TV, postcards, and in photos around the world, they may seem like an outdated decorative tradition, but the reality is that the Swiss Guards play a crucial role in protecting the Vatican and the Pope.
Throughout the day they take questions from visitors from around the world, from Japanese tourists wanting to know the way to the Sistine Chapel to nuns and priests hurrying in to appointments with Vatican officials.
The guards are less visible in their role of providing personal security to the Pope.
At the Vatican there are always six to nine Swiss Guards dressed as civilians protecting the Pope.
Today the guards are trained to deal with modern security risks from assassins to terrorist attacks.
When they arrive in Rome, the new recruits spend three weeks in a special Swiss Guard training programme where they learn personal defence techniques, use of weapons and how to manipulate the unwieldy halberd.
They also learn to use the proper salutes and how to address everyone from a tourist to a Cardinal.
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