Editing Holy See (section)

== Military ==
{{See also|Military in Vatican City}}
[[File:Vatikanoko guardia suitzarra, Lurdako Gure Amaren Santutegian.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[Swiss Guard]] on patrol]]

Like various European powers, earlier popes recruited Swiss mercenaries as part of an army. The [[Pontifical Swiss Guard]] was founded by [[Pope Julius II]] in January 1506 as the personal bodyguards of the Pope and continues to fulfill that function.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.swissguard.va/index.php?id=258&L=3|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131030094000/http://www.swissguard.va/index.php?id=258&L=3|url-status=dead |title=Päpstliche Schweizergarde: 1506 Foundation |date=30 October 2013|archive-date=30 October 2013}}</ref> It is listed in the ''[[Annuario Pontificio]]'' under "Holy See", not under "State of Vatican City".<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013), p. 1269</ref>

In 2005, the Guard had 134 members. Recruitment is arranged by a special agreement between the Holy See and Switzerland. All recruits must be Catholic, unmarried males with Swiss citizenship who have completed basic training with the [[Swiss Armed Forces]] with certificates of good conduct, be between the ages of 19 and 30,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.swissguard.va/index.php?id=265&L=3 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421222339/http://www.swissguard.va/index.php?id=265&L=3 | url-status=dead | archive-date=21 April 2013 |title=Päpstliche Schweizergarde: Conditions |date=21 April 2013}}</ref> and be at least {{convert|175|cm|ftin|abbr=off}} in height.

Members are armed with small arms and the traditional [[halberd]], also called the Swiss [[voulge]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.knightsedge.com/s-99-swiss-voulge.aspx|title=Swiss Voulge – Also Called Halberd or Halbert|website=www.knightsedge.com|accessdate=5 March 2023|archive-date=5 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305044518/https://www.knightsedge.com/s-99-swiss-voulge.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> and trained in bodyguarding tactics.<ref>See videos at [https://archive.today/20131030093955/http://www.swissguard.va/index.php?id=252&L=3 Pontifical Swiss Guards, Gallery]</ref>

The police force in Vatican City, known as the [[Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City]], belongs to the city state, not to the Holy See.

The Holy See signed the UN [[treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons]], a binding agreement for negotiations for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |title=Chapter XXVI: Disarmament&nbsp;– No. 9 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection |date=7 July 2017 |access-date=10 August 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806220546/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Holy See urges ratification of Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2018-10/holy-see-united-nations-auza-prohibition-nuclear-weapons.html |work=Vatican News |date=23 October 2018 |access-date=10 August 2019 |archive-date=10 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810014127/https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2018-10/holy-see-united-nations-auza-prohibition-nuclear-weapons.html |url-status=live |author-first1=Robin|author-last1=Gomes}}</ref>