Camillo Cibin (3 June 1926 – 25 October 2009) was a military and

Papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

and Inspector General of the Corpo della Gendarmeria, the security and police force of

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

. He retired in 2006 after 58 years of service in the security force, and over 40 years as its commander. He served as a bodyguard to six popes and was known as "The Pope's Guardian Angel".

Early life and career

Camillo Cibin was born at

Salgareda Salgareda is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about northeast of Venice and about east of Treviso. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,102 and an area of .All demographics a ...

, in the northern

province of Treviso The province of Treviso () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Treviso. The province is surrounded by Province of Belluno, Belluno in the north, Province of Vicenza, Vicenza in the west, Pro ...

in Italy, on 3 June 1926. He joined the Vatican police force at age 21. He began serving in charge of security at the Vatican Council in the 1960s. He was appointed inspector-general of the Vatican Gendarmerie in 1972. Cibin was considered so discreet that it was joked about in the Vatican that he never answered a question, even "What time is it?".

Pope John Paul II Assassination attempt

Cibin was with

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

when the pontiff was shot in St. Peter's Square in 1981. Cibin captured

Mehmet Ali Ağca Mehmet Ali Ağca (; born 9 January 1958) is a Turkish hitman and former member of the Grey Wolves. He murdered Abdi İpekçi, a journalist, on 1 February 1979 and was imprisoned. He escaped from prison and travelled illegally to Vatican City o ...

, who was convicted of the assassination attempt and spent 19 years in an Italian prison. Cibin tried to resign after this but the Pope insisted he remain in his post, and claimed that

Our Lady of Fatima Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of " we" Places * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France Other uses * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a governm ...

had helped his survival. A year later, Cibin prevented priest

Juan María Fernández y Krohn Juan María Fernández y Krohn (born ) is a Spanish Traditionalist Catholic journalist, lawyer, and former priest who was convicted for the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in 1982. Early life Fernández y Krohn was born in Madrid, ...

from stabbing the pontiff during his visit to

Fatima Fatima bint Muhammad (; 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fatima al-Zahra' (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, the fourth of the Rashidun caliphs and the first Shia imam. ...

, in Portugal, a visit to the shrine of Our Lady, arranged to give thanks for the Pope's survival of the first attack. Cibin retired at age 79, having protected Pope John Paul in 104 places and escorted Pope Benedict XVI to Germany and Poland. Pope_Benedict_XVI_-Italy-19December2005FXD

Pope_Benedict_XVI_-Italy-19December2005FXD

Death and funeral

Cibin died at 83 of natural causes. His funeral mass was performed in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City. A commemorative plaque was unveiled in Cibin's memory on 16 October 2011, in Les Combes d'Introd in the

Aosta Valley The Aosta Valley ( ; ; ; or ), officially the Autonomous Region of Aosta Valley, is a mountainous Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Fr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cibin, Camillo 1926 births 2009 deaths Vatican City police officers Attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II Chiefs of police Bodyguards