Economics

Pope’s Army Gets Help From Ex-Central Banker for Vatican Revamp

  • New barracks are needed for the Vatican’s Swiss Guards
  • Former SNB chief Roth estimates costs about 50 million francs
Swiss Guards in Vatican City.Photographer: Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images
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Pope Francis’s guards need a new barracks and they’re getting help from a different kind of power -- a central banker.

Former Swiss National Bank President Jean-Pierre Roth, who oversaw the 2008 bailout of UBS, is now chairman of a foundation working to refurbish the quarters of the Vatican-based unit famous for its Renaissance-style uniforms, including striped pantaloons and helmets festooned with feathers.