The story of acquiring Pope Benedict’s zucchetto is one of Father Kunst’s favorites.
In 2006 when Benedict was a fairly new pope, Father Kunst worked with one of the seminarians from his diocese who was studying in Rome. Father bought a zucchetto at Gamarelli’s, the papal clothing maker in Rome. The seminarian brought it to the office of Archbishop Harvey, head of the papal household and formerly of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The seminarian brought a note from Father Kunst that talked about his collection. He also gave him the booklet, The Vatican Comes to Duluth, 2004. (This was an exhibit held in Duluth, Minnesota, highlighting many of the items on the web site.)
His hope was that Archbishop Harvey would keep the zucchetto he bought in exchange for one of Pope Benedict’s.
Six months later the seminarian received an early morning phone call from the archbishop saying the zucchetto was ready.
Archbishop Harvey included a card that attested to the fact Pope Benedict had indeed worn the zucchetto. —Father Richard Kunst
A very interesting story, indeed.
- Gammarelli’s in Rome
- The Vatican Comes to Duluth: The Papal Artifacts Collection of Father Richard Kunst in 2004
- Pope Benedict XVI