Pope Leo Urges Vatican Police to Guard Their Hearts As They Protect Others
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in the Vatican Gardens honoring the Vatican Gendarmerie’s patron, St. Michael the Archangel. He urged gendarmes to see their work as caring for and protecting people, not merely securing Vatican buildings and grounds. Leo said authority should be exercised with humility, discretion, respect, and compassion, with Jesus at the center of their lives. He encouraged the gendarmes to turn to prayer to bear the fatigue, worry, and difficult decisions their work can bring.
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Pope Leo XIV told members of the Vatican Gendarmerie that protecting others requires more than vigilance: It also calls for prayer, humility, compassion, and care for their own spiritual lives. He delivered the message at a Mass honoring their patron, St. Michael the Archangel, at the Lourdes Grotto in the Vatican Gardens on Oct. 3. 1
Leo described the gendarmes’ work as service in the “Lord’s vineyard,” extending beyond protecting Vatican buildings and grounds to caring for people. He praised their attention to treating others as people to be respected and protected, rather than as problems to solve. 1
Reflecting on the Gospel parable of the wicked tenants, the Pope said the authority entrusted to the gendarmes should be exercised with humility, dedication, discretion, and a sense of duty. He characterized Gospel-based authority as the ability to protect, listen, and accompany others with balance, firmness, and respect. 1
Leo urged the gendarmes to place Jesus at the center of their lives, saying that following him teaches strength joined with gentleness, vigilance rooted in trust, and authority tempered by humility and mercy. He also connected their work to St. Paul’s exhortation in Philippians to bring needs to God in prayer rather than surrender to anxiety. 1
Acknowledging that their service brings demanding days, quick decisions, fatigue, and worry, Leo said prayer can help them act with clarity and a calm heart. He urged them to guard themselves against becoming hardened and to keep their hearts receptive to God and attentive to others, with consciences shaped by truth, justice, goodness, and respect. 1
The Pope also called on the gendarmes to care for their consciences and strengthen their bonds with one another, saying that a group becomes a community through mutual care and support. He concluded by thanking their families for the sacrifices, absences, demanding schedules, and worries that accompany the gendarmes’ often-unseen service. 1
Christian ethics of authority, protection, and care
Christian ethics sees authority not as permission to dominate, but as a responsibility to serve, protect, and promote the good of those entrusted to one’s care. Its model is Christ the Good Shepherd: authority is legitimate when it is exercised for others, with justice and love.
The Catechism says authority should be exercised as a service, respecting human rights and the common good, and seeking the community’s interests before the officeholder’s own. In family, Church, and public life, those who lead therefore carry duties as well as rights: they must care for people, safeguard the vulnerable, and answer for how they use their power. The Pontifical Biblical Commission stresses that Christian leaders are servants of the community and accountable to God for their care of the flock.
Protection, in this sense, is active and attentive. Pope Francis describes it as concern for each person—especially children, the elderly, and those in need—and as care for creation. It means noticing vulnerability, making prudent decisions, and being present when people are wounded or in difficulty. Christian leadership is not merely issuing rules: Benedict XVI describes pastoral authority as guiding, protecting, correcting, and sustaining people in love.
Care can include correction and accountability. Clement of Alexandria compares correction to medicine: firm measures can help address wrongdoing, but their purpose is healing and guidance, not cruelty or revenge. Thus care is not indulgence that ignores harm; nor is authority a license to intimidate. Discipline must serve the person’s good and the community’s well-being.
Respect for authority is real, but it is not absolute. The Christian tradition calls for conscientious respect for legitimate authority, while recognizing that obedience cannot require complicity in evil: civil disobedience may be necessary when power is exercised tyrannically or commands what is unjust. Authority’s moral test is therefore not simply whether people obey it, but whether it serves justice, protects human dignity, and directs power toward the common good.