Pope Names New Head of Swiss Guards

Christoph Graf Promoted From 2nd Highest Post to 1st

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Pope Francis has promoted Christoph Graph this Saturday to be the new commander of the Swiss Guards this Saturday.

Graf, 53, had been serving as vice-commander until his promotion. In 1987, the Lucerne native joined the Swiss Guards.

He succeeds Col. Daniel Anrig, who has held the post since 2008 and whose contract expired Jan. 31.

The Swiss Guards take an oath to protect the Pope and have been in existence for some 500 years.

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Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

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