The country of the Vatican City even has its own army.........

Military and police[edit]

Pontifical Swiss Guards in their traditional uniform

Gendarmerie Police car

Main articles: Military of Vatican City and Corps of Gendarmerie of Vatican City

The military defence of Vatican City is provided by Italy and its armed forces, given the fact that Vatican City is an enclave within Italy. Vatican City has no armed force of its own, the Swiss Guardbeing a corps of the Holy See responsible for the personal security of the Pope.

Though, like various European powers, earlier Popes recruited Swiss mercenaries as part of an army for the Papal States, the Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by Pope Julius II on 22 January 1506 as the pope's personal bodyguard and continues to fulfill that function. It is listed in the Annuario Pontificio under "Holy See", not under "State of Vatican City". At the end of 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 their basic training with the Swiss Army with certificates of good conduct, be between the ages of 19 and 30, and be at least 174 cm (5 ft 9 in) in height. Members are equipped with small arms and the traditional halberd (also called the Swiss voulge), and trained in bodyguarding tactics.

The Palatine Guard and the Noble Guard were disbanded by Pope Paul VI in 1970.^[45] While the first body was founded as a militia at the service of the Papal States, its functions within the Vatican state, like those of the Noble Guard, were merely ceremonial.

The Gendarmerie Corps (Corpo della Gendarmeria) is the gendarmerie, or police and security force, of Vatican City and the extraterritorial properties of the Holy See.^[55] The corps is responsible for security, public order, border control, traffic control, criminal investigation, and other general police duties in Vatican City including providing security for the pope outside of Vatican City. The corps has 130 personnel and is a part of the Security and Civil Defense Services Department (which also includes the Vatican Fire Brigade), an organ of the Governorate of Vatican City.^[56][57]