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Head of the Swiss Guards, Colonel Daniel Rudolf Anrig will leave his position on January 31.
The man whose colleagues considered him a dictator is being removed at the request of Pope Francis.
“The Holy Father has ordered that Colonel Daniel Rudolf Anrig end his term on 31 January, at the conclusion of the extension granted after the end of his five-year mandate,” read a brief notice in the L’Osservatore Romano.
The 42 year old Anrig was head of the criminal branch of the Swiss police force before being appointed by Pope Benedict in 2008.
His five-year contract had been extended indefinitely, however Pope Francis wants the corps to be run in a less military style, and Swiss guards found that the commander was too rigid and strict.
French media reports attributed the decision to the commander’s strictness, quoting one Swiss Guard as calling his removal “the end of a dictatorship.” The Vatican and the Guard have declined to provide any official explanation, reports Crux.
As of Monday, the Swiss Guard website made no mention of Anrig’s removal.
The pope enjoys a familiar relationship with his bodyguards. He knows them by name and asks about their families.
Swiss Guards are the Swiss soldiers who have served as bodyguards of the Pope since the 16th century and are responsible for the security of the apostolic palace.
They must be single Catholic men aged between 19 and 30, and at least 5ft 8.5 ins tall.
They swear allegiance to the Pope and are famous for their Renaissance-style uniform, with a plumed feather in their helmet, leggings and a high ruff collar.
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