The Papal Zouaves were the Pope’s army to defend the Pope. The Zouaves evolved out of a unit formed by Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière in 1860. On January 1, 1861 the unit was renamed the Papal Zouaves. He had been introduced by Frédéric-François-Xavier Ghislain de Mérode. “The Zuavi Pontifici were mainly young men, unmarried and Roman Catholic, who volunteered to assist Pope Pius IX in his struggle against the Italian unificationist Risorgimento. They wore a similar style of uniform to that of the French Zouaves but in grey with red trim. A grey and red kepi was substituted for the fez. All orders were given in French and the unit was commanded by a Swiss Colonel, M. Allet. Nonetheless, the regiment was truly international.
