It is led by Inspector General Gianluca Gauzzi Broccoletti, who has served on the Vatican gendarmerie since 1995 and who was made deputy leader in 2018.

It took an active part in the battles that finally led to the complete conquest of the Papal States by the victorious Kingdom of Italy.

After the capture of Rome in 1870, a small group of officers of the Corps continued to serve in the papal residence and the gardens.

In 1929, the force was expanded to deal with its duties in the newly founded Vatican City State and in the buildings and other areas over which the Holy See had extraterritorial rights.

The Vatican Gendarmerie includes two special units, the Rapid Intervention Group (Gruppo Intervento Rapido; G.I.R.)

[4] Since 2000 an operations and control room, staffed 24 hours a day, coordinates the response of the Vatican security services in the case of an emergency.

[5] While the protection of the Pope's person is primarily the Swiss Guard's responsibility, the gendarmes ensure public order at the audiences, meetings and ceremonies at which he is present.

To qualify for enrollment as a gendarme, a person must be an unmarried male, between the ages of 21 and 24, of good health and a practising Catholic.

[citation needed] The Gendarmerie are responsible for policing the whole of Vatican City State (however the Italian Polizia di Stato and sometimes Italian Carabinieri patrol St. Peter's Square) and one of the two that provide security for the Pope within the Vatican along with Swiss Guards, as well as during the Pope's international travels accompanied by the country's local protection agencies and law enforcement.

The Gendarmerie has a Rapid Intervention Group (Gruppo di Intervento Rapido; GIR), a police tactical unit trained for various situations to respond to threats more effectively:[9][10] The Commandant of the Gendarmerie Corps is the head of the Directorate of Security and Civil Protection Services, which also oversees the Vatican fire brigade.

The Swiss Guard have maintained a centuries-long tradition of carrying swords and spears, unlike the Gendarmerie Corps.

These included bearskin headdresses with red plumes, black coatees with white-fringed epaulettes, white doeskin breeches and knee-high riding boots.