, flag = BandieraGuardiaSvizzeraGraf-PapaFrancesco.png , flagcaption = Flag of the Pontifical Swiss Guard with commander Christoph Graf's emblem , image = Christoph Graf.jpg , incumbent =

Christoph Graf Colonel Christoph Graf (born 5 September 1961) is the 35th and current Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, appointed by Pope Francis on 7 February 2015, replacing Col. Daniel Anrig. Biography Graf was born in Pfaffnau, in the canton o ...

, incumbentsince = 7 February 2015 , member_of = The

Pontifical Swiss Guard The Pontifical Swiss Guard (also Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard; la, Pontificia Cohors Helvetica; it, Guardia Svizzera Pontificia; german: Päpstliche Schweizergarde; french: Garde suisse pontificale; rm, Guardia svizra papala) is ...

, reports_to = The

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, residence =

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

, formation = 22 January 1506 ( years ago) , first =

Kaspar von Silenen Kaspar von Silenen (c. 1467 – 5 August 1517) was the first commander or commandant of the Papal Swiss Guard. Born in Lucerne as the son of ''Ritter'' Albin of Silenen (canton of Uri), the commander of the Lucerne troops in the battles of Mur ...

, deputy = Philippe Morard The Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard is the head of the

. In total, there have been 35 commanders of the Swiss Guard serving 51 popes, with interruptions during 1527–1548 following the Sack of Rome, in 1564/5, in 1704–1712 and in 1798/9 following the French invasion. 24 out of 35 commanders were citizens of the city of

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...

(not counting the incumbent,

, who is from

Pfaffnau Pfaffnau is a municipality in the district of Willisau in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. In the municipality two different parts are existing, the village Pfaffnau and the Former Monastery of St. Urban. History Pfaffnau is first mentioned ...

in the

canton of Lucerne The canton of Lucerne (german: Kanton Luzern rm, Chantun Lucerna french: Canton de Lucerne it, Canton Lucerna) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the centre of Switzerland. The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the populatio ...

). During 1652–1847 the office became quasi-heritable, with ten commanders members of the

Pfyffer von Altishofen Pfyffer is a Swiss family and surname, originally members of the patriciate of the city of Lucerne. Several generations of representatives of this family (11 in total between 1652 and 1982) were commanders of the Pontifical Swiss Guard,Lischer (20 ...

family of Lucerne. Two commanders were from

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

, serving during the years of the

Swiss Reformation The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrate, Mark Reust, and the population of Zürich in the 1520s. It led to significant changes in civil life and state matte ...

; in modern times, three commanders were from

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...

, two from

Fribourg , Location of , Location of () () or , ; or , ; gsw, label=Swiss German, Frybùrg ; it, Friburgo or ; rm, Friburg. is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), ...

, and one each from

Solothurn , neighboring_municipalities = Bellach, Biberist, Feldbrunnen-Sankt Niklaus, Langendorf, Rüttenen, Zuchwil , twintowns = Heilbronn (Germany), Kraków (Poland), Le Landeron (Switzerland) Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; ...

, Grisons and

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

List of Commanders

List: , -style="text-align:center;" , colspan=8, ''Guard disbanded''
(1527–1548) , - , -style="text-align:center;" , colspan=8, ''Guard disbanded''
(1564–1566) , - , -style="text-align:center;" , colspan=8, ''Post vacant''
(1798–1800) , -

Notes

References

{{Papacy Commanders of the Swiss Guard