WDIO: Northland Pastor’s Appearance on Pawn Stars–May 18th, 2019

Father Richard Kunst, pastor at St. James Catholic Church has been collecting clothing, jewelry and documents that belonged to various Popes for 25 years. He says—he has the largest collection in the world outside the Vatican.

“Most of the things that I collect, I have directly connected to the person of the Pope. People have been Pope throughout the centuries. And so, things that they wore, things that they used, documents—things that they wrote and so it really brings the very human side of these guys to light,” Father Kunst said.

Over time, Kunst’s collection inspired him to create a website. Here, he shares knowledge about the Pope’s and their memorabilia. This is how he was first discovered by Pawn Stars.

“From the faith perspective as a Catholic and the importance that the Pope holds for us, to see things that Pope’s from the past used and wore and touched can be a strong impact on people of fairth and of people of the Catholic faith in particular,” Father Kunst said.

For the past eleven years, Father Kunst has worked as an adviser to the show’s main expert, known at the Beard of Knowledge—providing him information about Catholic and Papal artifacts. Over time, he was encouraged to submit something of his own, which he did.

Following his submission, Father Kunst was invited to Los Vegas in September to be featured in an episode of the show. While there, he shared a ring that belonged to Pope Paul II and a zucchetto that belonged to Pope Pius XII.

Monday’s episode of Pawn Stars will air on the History channel at 9:00 pm.