The Vatican procures weapons in Switzerland. But this is about fake tears at the Holy See and not about halberds for the Swiss Guard.
Switzerland is actually a peace-loving country.
But when it comes to making money, the Swiss are more or less happy to do any kind of business. After all, they have no natural resources that the country could turn into cash.
Close ties
The Vatican is also a peace-loving country. However, the Catholic Church often preaches water and secretly drinks wine.
This can be seen once again in a matter that research by muula.ch has now brought to light.
Switzerland’s links to the Holy See are manifold and, since 2022, Switzerland has even been operating an embassy, which had not been possible for centuries.
Even two AHV pensions are exported from Switzerland to the Vatican, as muula.ch recently reported.
665 million for 60 countries
However, the Holy See purchased reportable war material in Switzerland in 2024. This can be seen from a detailed breakdown of Swiss war material exports by category per end recipient country.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) recently published this table in a somewhat hidden form.
Although the Pope’s purchase of weapons in Switzerland only involves a relatively small amount of around 5,000 Swiss francs, it is quite something.
In total, Swiss companies exported around 665 million Swiss francs in war material to 60 countries in 2024 – based on Seco authorizations.
135 soldiers protect the Pope
When it comes to the Vatican buying weapons, everyone will probably think of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, which may have ordered new halberds in its homeland.
After all, the Swiss have been protecting the Apostolic Palace, the entrances to Vatican City and the Pope’s summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, which the new Holy Father Leo XIV rediscovered as a retreat, since the 16th century.
But the Swiss Guard at the Vatican is also a military unit, even if it is currently only a small military corps with 135 soldiers, which is responsible for the Pope’s security, but also performs honorary duties at audiences, for example.
Modern weapons are now also part of the Swiss Guard’s equipment; the halberds are more ornamental.
Small arms and missiles
The Pope’s purchase in 2024 under the old Pope Francis falls into the war material category KM7 and anyone looking for something will hardly believe their eyes.
These are tear gases or other irritant gases, as muula.ch found out in the separate breakdown.
This makes it clear that not all the tears in the Vatican and on St. Peter’s Square are real, but can also be caused by Swiss war material exports.
The Pope as good customer
The small amount of tear gas purchased by the Vatican in Switzerland is put into perspective when you look at other recipient states.
In 2024, Germany also ordered this Swiss war material, but the value for one of the main countries purchasing Swiss weapons was only 83 Swiss francs.
This means that the Vatican ordered almost 60 times more.
Belgium and the UK also purchased less tear gas in Switzerland than the Holy See, at 4855 Swiss francs and 2807 Swiss francs respectively, as the Seco table also shows.
Singapore a major buyer
The leader in this category is Singapore with tear gas purchases for a high of 242,094 Swiss francs, which is around 3,000 times more than Germany and around 50 times more than the Vatican.
However, Singapore is anything but a democracy, so it becomes clear what the Asian surveillance state needs the Swiss tear gas and other military equipment worth millions for.
But when it comes to money, the love of peace of many a Swiss stops – and does not even stop at the Catholic Church.
06.07.2025/kut./ena.
