Father Kunst recently acquired several letters signed by Pope John Paul II.
This one was written on letterhead stationary on November 17, 1990, displaying the coat of arms of the papacy, the cross keys and tiara.
Because he was canonized in 2014 and is the Curator’s favorite saint, these are a remarkable addition to this Collection.
Father Richard Kunst
Letter from Pope John Paul II to President Jimmy Carter, Signed and Sealed
I believe this is the first formal communication between Pope John Paul II and the US government.
A letter to a president!!
This, of course, is the first communication which eventually led to the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Significance of the Letter
This is an historically significant letter from the newly elected Pope John Paul II to President Jimmy Carter acknowledging the pope’s reception of the president’s special envoy, Ambassador Robert Wagner, who served as the president’s representative to the Vatican from November 1978 to January 1981.
This first actionable correspondence from Pope John Paul II to the American President was to be the first of many communications between the pope and the American heads of state.
The letter is literally the first volley between the two world powers that would lead to the eventual overthrow of the Iron Curtin. Though the lion share of that work happened between President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, this letter acted as the initial communication that strengthened the alliances between the two nations that led to the eventual transformation of world politics towards the end of the twentieth century.
It is difficult to overstate the historical significance of this letter from the future saint and the sitting president.
