> NEWS & EVENTS > Life of a Swiss Guard

SPECIAL DOCUMENTARY SCREENING & EXHIBIT PREVIEW IN NEW YORK

October 2016

The World’s Smallest Army & Life of a Swiss Guard

The colorful history and intriguing present of the Pontifical Swiss Guards protecting the Pope.

ON the evening of October 18th, the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, together with the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums and the Solares Federazione delle Arti, will be holding a presentation and discussion of the new film "The World's Smallest Army" by Gianfranco Pannone. This film transports viewers inside the Vatican and into the lives of those men serving the Pontifical Swiss Guard, the famously clad army founded in 1506 to protect the Pope.

The film documents a year in the life of two new recruits as the take up service together in the eternal city and bridge 500 year old traditions and garb as they serve a Pope who regularly enters the crowd and seeks to propose the Christian faith in the modern world.

Presenting the 80 minute film, along with the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See, will be director Gianfranco Pannone as well as the ex Captain of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, Frowin Bachman.
Entering the ECOSOC Chamber, the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums will be presenting a stunning photographic exhibition on the Swiss Guard recently displayed in the Vatican Museums.

A panel with the filmmaker, Gianfranco Pannone, and a former Swiss Guard will follow the screening.

Tuesday October 18th, 2016 - 6.00 pm
United Nations, ECOSOC Hall
760 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017

The World’s Smallest Army: The Swiss Guards in the Time of Pope Francis

Documentarian Gianfranco Pannone brings viewers behind the walls of the Vatican for a rare glimpse into the lives of men serving in the famed Papal Swiss Guard, the brightly uniformed military unit founded in the 16th Century to guard the Pope. The film follows a year in the life of young recruits from different backgrounds as they straddle modern life and centuries old traditions while becoming brothers in arms.

A panel with the filmmaker, Gianfranco Pannone, and a former Swiss Guard will follow the screening.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 7:30PM

Sheen Center - Loreto Theater
18 Bleecker Street
New York, NY 10012