Swiss guard with Filipino blood has roots from Bantayan

Vincent Luthi, 22, from Cugy, Switzerland, was sworn as a member of the Swiss Guard last October 4. Luthi is of Filipino and Swiss decent, with his mother hailing from Santa Fe town in Bantayan Island. | Photo courtesy of the Vatican Press Office

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Vatican has recently sworn 38 new members of the Swiss Guard, and one of them happened to be of Swiss and Filipino descent with roots in Santa Fe town in Bantayan Island.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), in a press release issued on October 9, confirmed that 22-year-old Vincent Luthi became the first Swiss guard with Filipino blood.

“For the first time, the Vatican has sworn in a Swiss with Filipino parentage as member of the Swiss Guard, the elite corps of soldiers who protect the pope,” the report stated.

Luthi, born in Cugy, Switzerland and whose mother hails from Santa Fe in Bantayan Island, in northern Cebu officially became part of the Swiss Guard during a small and private ceremony last October 4.

“The 22-year-old grew up in Cugy, Switzerland and the only child of a Swiss father and a Filipino mother from Santa Fe town on Bantayan Island in Cebu province,” said CBCP.

Santa Fe is among the municipalities that comprised Bantayan Island, located approximately 140 kilometers northwest of the province capital Cebu City.

The ceremonial swearing-in of the new Swiss Guards for the Vatican was supposed to take place in May but it was pushed back to October due to coronavirus restrictions, CBCP said.

“The event was also held behind closed doors, in accordance with current protection regulations,” they said.

Believed to be one of the oldest military units in the world, Swiss Guards are tasked to secure the pope, and maintain peace, order, and security within Vatican City, the seat of power of the Roman Catholic church. /dbs

RELATED STORY: Vatican urges return to in-person Mass as soon as possible