His personal archive of documents will be packed up and, at 20:00 (19:00 GMT) on Thursday, the Swiss Guard on duty at his Castel Gandolfo residence will be dismissed, to be replaced by Vatican police.

BBC: Pope Benedict XVI recalls joy and 'choppy waters'

Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, pointed out to journalists that the Vatican's security officers - the famed ceremonial Swiss Guard and the 150-strong police force - are there to serve the pontiff, not to restrict his movements.

BBC: Pope Francis quick to stamp his style on papacy

The girls had done their job well but the Swiss stone was close to the button and there was a red guard blocking so I had to draw the stone round from the left, miss the Swiss guard and put the stone right in the centre of the house.

BBC: Rhona Martin tips Great Britain for double medals

Mohsen Sazegara helped found the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and says the group was originally intended to be a popular force like the Swiss army, the National Guard in the United States or Vietnam's Viet Cong.

NPR: The Evolution of Iran's Revolutionary Guard