The blacksmith brothers who suit up the pope's Swiss Guard

These highly skilled Austrian artisans are ever-so-carefully replacing the guard's 500-year-old armor

Kelly Gonsalves's avatar
By
Published
Johann Schmidberger works on a suit of armor for the Vatican's Swiss Guards.
Swiss guards stand at attention before the start of the Easter mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on March 27, 2016
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Max Rossi)The Pontifical Swiss Guards are unique in many ways — they are relatively small (just 110 soldiers) and the selection process is one of the most rigorous — but their iconic)

Johann Schmidberger works on a suit of armor for the Vatican's Swiss Guards at his workshop in Molln, Austria
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger)The Vatican ordered 80 breast harnesses, which would gradually replace the ancient collection. Each harness takes roughly 120 hours to weld and fashion and, besides b)

(REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger)

(REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger)

(REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger)

(REUTERS/Lisi Niesner)

(REUTERS/Lisi Niesner)

(REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger)

(REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger)

New Vatican Swiss guards adjust their uniforms prior to a swearing-in ceremony at the Vatican on May 6, 2016.
(Image credit: (REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini))

(REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi)

Kelly Gonsalves
Kelly Gonsalves

Kelly Gonsalves is a sex and culture writer exploring love, lust, identity, and feminism. Her work has appeared at Bustle, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and more, and she previously worked as an associate editor for The Week. She's obsessed with badass ladies doing badass things, wellness movements, and very bad rom-coms.