A major project to redevelop new barracks for the Pontifical Swiss Guards, the pope’s body guard and Vatican City military, has been postponed due to a lack of funds and escalating project costs.
Although the Vatican granted building permits to construct new barracks for the Swiss Guards in January of this year, with construction originally slated to begin immediately, the foundation responsible for the construction announced Feb. 18 that construction has been delayed until 2027 because of a fundraising shortfall for the project.
The Swiss Guards, the smallest standing army in the world, are based in barracks near Porta Sant’Anna in Vatican City which have barely been renovated since they were built in the late 19th century.
The Barracks Foundation was established in Switzerland in 2016 to raise funds for the construction of new barracks and to lead the project.
The foundation began fundraising in 2019 and while it had secured the almost 50 million euros necessary for the project by late 2024, rising construction costs and technical difficulties have led the project costs to grow by 27 million euros.
While building permits were granted in January, construction is now expected to begin in 2027 and scheduled for completion by the end of 2029.
Originally, the plan was to begin construction right immediately following the close of the 2025 Jubilee Year.
According to the foundation, building costs in Rome have increased by 33.5% since the project was drawn up in 2019, requiring a further 12 million euros in new funding.
An additional 5 million euros are also needed for anticipated price increases across the timeline of the project until completion.
In addition to increased costs, there have also been changes in the project plans themselves.
The original plan was to demolish entirely and rebuild the barracks, but revised plans call for the facade of the current barracks to be kept in place, which has further increased costs and caused delays in construction.
Also factoring into increased costs is the need to reinforce the building’s foundations and renovations to the sewage system, which were not in the original construction proposals or plans.
Moreover, the foundation is also set to cover the costs of the renovation of the Passetto di Borgo, an elevated passage that goes from Castel Sant’Angelo to the Vatican, and is adjacent to the Swiss guards’ barracks.
The original building plan intended for nearly all unmarried guards to live in single rooms, but the revised plans have been adjusted to accommodate them in double rooms.
This is still a significant upgrade, as low-ranking guards currently live in shared dormitories that accommodate up to ten guards, moving to double or triple rooms as they move up the ranks, or to private quarters for married officers.
The foundation originally fundraised almost exclusively in Switzerland, receiving funds from the Swiss federal government, Swiss cantons, local foundations companies and Catholic organizations, and private individuals.
Now, the foundation is launching another campaign in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy and the United States to cover the additional costs, which is expected to happen by year’s end.
The push for independent fundraising for the renovation project comes amid a wider cash crunch in the Vatican.
The most recent Holy See budget statement offered broadly positive news, reporting a €1.6 million surplus after years of overspending, alongside a slashing of the Holy See’s structural budget deficit by nearly half.
However, much of those gains were the result of an increase in non-recurring donations and one-time realizations of investment gains.
Recurring operating income still fell short of budgeted operational expenses by more than 33 million euros.
The Pillar reported in April 2025 that the Vatican’s pension fund deficit was internally estimated at 1.4 billion in 2014 and it is widely believed to have grown ever since.
The current barracks were built in the 19th century and almost no renovations have been carried out since.
The Barracks Foundation says that the poor state of the building causes disproportionately high maintenance costs.
According to the foundation, the building’s insulation is poor, and the walls are full of stains, with plaster crumbling in many places.
Moreover, the current space and conditions of the barracks mean that married guardsmen have to live in Rome instead of within Vatican City itself.
The Pontifical Swiss Guard was established in 1505, after Swiss Bishop Matthäus Schiner suggested that Pope Julius II hire Swiss mercenaries – considered the most effective in Europe – to protect Rome, and the pope took him up on his suggestion, hiring 150 Swiss mercenaries to serve him.
All Swiss guards are required to have Swiss citizenship.
However, there are no requirements as to whether that citizenship must have been acquired by birth or by naturalization, which is why there have been Swiss guards coming from Filipino, Colombian, or Indian families.
Currently, there are 135 Swiss Guards after Pope Francis decided to increase the number of guards from 110 in 2018.
Recruits must be unmarried, Catholic, Swiss men between the ages of 19 and 30.
They must have a high school degree or a professional diploma, and must have completed the basic Swiss Armed Forces training, which is usually between 18 and 21 weeks long, and recruits must be over 5’’8’ tall.