100 Pop Songs Every Catholic Should Hear #4 "The Last Stand" by Sabaton
This day, May 6, 2025, is an historic one. It is historic because of what is not occurring today. For the first time since 1769 there is a papal interregnum on May 6th. That means that today in the San Damaso Courtyard of the Vatican, no young men will swear to “faithfully, loyally and honorably serve the Supreme Pontiff…so help me God and his Saints.”
This is the oath that every new Swiss Guard takes on May 6th, when he raises his right hand, with three fingers extended for the Holy Trinity.
The last May 6th papal interregnum was between the pontificates of Clement XIII and Clement XIV. Our story today though is about another Pope Clement, and another May 6th. That story is the subject of this week’s “Pop Song Every Catholic Should Hear.”
In the heart of the Holy See
In the home of Christianity
The seat of power is in danger
There's a foe of a thousand swords
They've been abandoned by their lords
Their fall from grace will pave their path, to damnationThen the one hundred eighty-nine
In the service of heaven
They're protecting the holy line
It was 1527
Gave their lives on the steps to heaven
Thy will be done!For the grace, for the might of our lord
For the home of the holy
For the faith, for the way of the sword
Gave their lives so boldly
For the grace, for the might of our lord
In the name of his glory
For the faith, for the way of the sword
Come and tell their story againUnder guard of forty-two
Along a secret avenue
Castel Sant' Angelo is waiting
They're the guards of the Holy See
They're the guards of Christianity
Their path to history is paved with salvationThen the one hundred eighty-nine
In the service of heaven
They're protecting the holy line
It was 1527
Gave their lives on the steps to heaven
Thy will be done!For the grace, for the might of our lord
For the home of the holy
For the faith, for the way of the sword
Gave their lives so boldly
For the grace, for the might of our lord
In the name of his glory
For the faith, for the way of the sword
Come and tell their story againDying for salvation with dedication
No capitulation, annihilation
Papal commendation, reincarnation
Heaven is your destinationDying for salvation with dedication
No capitulation, annihilation
Papal commendation, reincarnation
Heaven is your destination
In the name of GodFor the grace, for the might of our lord
For the home of the holy
For the faith, for the way of the sword
Gave their lives so boldly
For the grace, for the might of our lord
In the name of his glory
For the faith, for the way of the swordCome and tell their story
Gave their lives so boldly
Come and tell the Swiss Guards' story again
To state that the tension in Christendom in the 1520s was fraught would be a significant understatement. As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, “it may be doubted if there was one man in ten thousand who would have succeeded by natural tact and human prudence in guiding the Bark of Peter through such tempestuous waters. Clement was certainly not such a man.”
Just a couple years earlier, Clement had made a secret treaty with the King of France, who was then at war with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.
Tragically, war broke out between Charles and troops controlled by the Pope. Even more tragically, only one day after a peace treaty was signed, Pope Clement violated the agreement and attacked imperial troops. Warren Carroll somberly notes, “One may search all of papal history in vain for a more imprudent or irresponsible act by any Pope.”
Nevertheless, eventually a second treaty was signed. By this time however, the imperial army was underfed and underpaid. Of those that remained, roughly 2/3 were German Lutherans who had no love for the Catholic Pope.
Thus began a mutiny.
This army would march to Rome and be paid by pillage and plunder.
“Then the 189
In the service of heaven
They’re protecting the holy line
It was 1527
At the moment the wall to the Vatican was breached, the Pope was praying in his private chapel. He was informed that he had, literally, seconds left to escape.
That he had this warning at all is due to the 189.
189 Swiss Guards who once swore an oath to “faithfully, loyally and honorably serve the Supreme Pontiff…so help me God and his Saints” were all that were “protecting the holy line” of papal succession.
42 of the guard were sent to lead the Pope, if possible, to safety.
147 of the guard stood.
Their last stand: a bloodthirsty horde of 20,000 against 147 Swiss Guards before the high altar of St. Peter’s.
It was 1527, gave their lives on the steps to heaven
Thy will be done!
Indeed, the guards gave their lives on the steps to heaven—the steps leading to the mother church of Christianity—but I have no doubt they remembered the words of Our Lord, “he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.” So, it may truly be said that the guard found their lives on those steps to heaven. For those steps would lead them to behold the face of Him they protected in the person of His Vicar.
Thy will be done, “for the grace, for the might of our lord / In the name of his glory.”
Under guard of 42
Along a secret avenue
Castel Sant’Angelo is waiting
Between the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo an 800 meter long “secret” passage, which you may still visit to this day.
They’re the guards of the Holy See
One reason why this story is so moving is because of who Giulio de' Medici was. We may well be reminded of the words of St. Paul who rightly notes, “Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die.” Let us make no mistake though. Again, Warren Carroll tells us that, “the Swiss Guard, in the noblest moment of their long service [gave] their lives to save the unworthy Pope…” These guards took an oath to protect, not the name of de’ Medici, but the name of Clement, the name of Peter, indeed, the name of Christ. As the military saying goes, “we salute the rank, not the man.”
Sometimes, I think we Catholics are dangerously willing to shout, “you are a de’ Medici!” instead of shouting, “Tu es Petrus!” The 189 shouted out the truth—Tu es Petrus—with their blood. We would do well to follow their example, if not with our blood, then at least with our words.
Dying for salvation with dedication
No capitulation, annihilation
Papal commendation, reincarnation
Heaven is your destination
In the name of God
The moving lyrics of the song’s bridge remind us that the guard understood exactly what their final stand meant. They would never capitulate, but make no mistake, they knew full well that there would be no Papal commendation for them. They knew full well this was their one life to live (no reincarnation), and they were laying it down. And why? Because they believed in something far better than commendation or reincarnation: they believed in the words of Our Lord, “Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise.” That day, no doubt, they believed heaven was their destination.
And so, they stood.
Their final stand.
In the name of God.
The Pope was held prisoner in Castel Sant’Angelo for six months. The 189 had saved him, even though, in the end the final 42 guards were killed.
Let us make a final footnote on the “unworthy pope.” This same Clement, the seventh by that name, in the end defended the sanctity, dignity, and indissolubility of marriage against the attack by King Henry VIII. This, despite the fact that he, as Carroll notes, “before the sack of Rome never defended anything on principle.” Of course we will never know, this side of heaven, but I wonder if, just possibly, when deciding on Henry’s case if a de’ Medici thought back to the 189 men who refused to capitulate, and “gave their lives so boldly, for the grace, for the might of the Lord.” And if he did, then perhaps he remembered his own duty, not to the name de’ Medici but to Clement, to Peter, to Christ.
In just two years, on May 6, 2027, there will be another swearing in ceremony for the Swiss Guards. It will mark the 500th anniversary of the guards’ last stand. On that day, as they have for centuries, each man will raise his right hand and swear to “faithfully, loyally and honorably serve the Supreme Pontiff…so help me God and his Saints.”
Pray for them. Pray for the Cardinal electors. Pray for our new Pope. That is our duty as Catholics who have been Confirmed in the faith. We Confirmed are meant to be Soldiers of Christ. Perhaps sometimes we might forget this duty. If ever we do, might I suggest we remind each other of our soldierly duty by telling, again, the story of the 189.
Come and tell their story
Gave their lives so boldly
Come and tell the Swiss Guards' story again
Then, let us stand.
In the name of God.
Amen.