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https://www.archspm.org/vaticanunveiled/
Visitors marvel at ‘Vatican Unveiled’ at Mall of America
The Rev. Richard Kunst of the Diocese of Duluth started collecting papal objects in the
mid-1990s.
By Alicia Eler
The Minnesota Star Tribune
JANUARY 22, 2026 AT 6:00AM
Visitors view artifacts at the “Vatican Unveiled” exhibit on Jan. 14 at the Mall of America
in Bloomington. (Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
A bone fragment from the year 189. A colorful early 20th century Swiss Guard uniform
from the Vatican Army. Four lead conclave seals from the election of Pope John Paul II.
These are just a few of the 250-plus papal artifacts on view at “Vatican Unveiled” at the
Mall of America. The exhibition celebrates the 175thanniversary of the Archdiocese of
St. Paul and Minneapolis, with objects collected by the Rev. Richard Kunst of the
Diocese of Duluth. With subzero temperatures outside, inside the glossy mall visitors
took in historical papal artifacts.
“I think the people most interested might be Catholics, but it’s not necessarily just a
Catholic thing,” Kunst said. “As far as Christianity is concerned, we had a shared history
for 75 percent of the time. The separation of different denominations only happened in
the last 500 years.”
Visitors view artifacts, including a Victorian Lion Head Chair, Jan. 14 at the “Vatican
Unveiled” exhibit at the Mall of America in Bloomington. (Anthony Soufflé/The
Minnesota Star Tribune)
About 70 people lined up Jan. 14 as the exhibition opened.
It begins with an extensive history of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Louis
Hennepin, a Franciscan missionary from Belgium, was the first Catholic priest to reach
Minnesota.
Dana Watters of St. Michael mused about conclave seals used during the conclave for
Pope John Paul II in 1978.
“It’s just really old, it’s interesting,” said Watters, 60. “When we were in Rome at the
Vatican, they talked about the past and what happens [in the conclave] … but to see all
of it is really cool.”
Kayla Ross, 19, and Jada George, 18, attended Nativity of Mary School in Bloomington
for elementary and middle school. When they heard the show was coming, they made a
plan to go.
Visitors roam through the low-lit “Vatican Unveiled” exhibit Jan. 14 at the Mall of
America in Bloomington. (Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
“I feel like there is a lot of beauty and mystery within the church, and I wanted to see
what they were bringing here today that connected to that,” George said.
George was intrigued by a 1963 voting ballot from the Second Vatican Council.
“I didn’t go to Catholic high school, so I feel like I lost a lot of that learning about the
faith,” Ross said. “So I just wanted to come back.”
Some papal objects reference political and historical moments.
“The church, the Vatican, play a huge role throughout different events and politics and
the international world,” Kunst said
.
A signed blessing from Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922) condemns the Armenian
genocide. In St. Damien of Molokai’s letters, he chronicled his experience with a leper
colony in Hawaii (1865-1889).
A Pope John Paul II Marvel comic book is just one of over 250 objects at the “Vatican
Unveiled” exhibition. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Ronald Carlson and James Sokola, both 81, have been friends since the seventh grade.
Growing up, they were altar boys at St. Patrick’s of St. Paul. The two say they argue a
lot but also find time to go to baseball games.
“He’s ultra conservative and I’m meh,” said Carlson, shrugging.
Sokola recalled being “flabbergasted” when Pope John Paul II was elected in 1978.
Sokola’s grandparents were from Poland, and John Paul II was the first Polish pope.
“There were a bunch of these nasty Polish jokes at the time, and it was just uplifting all
of a sudden,” Sokola said. “He was so brilliant, he could speak so many languages ―
and that kind of ended a lot of those Polish jokes.”
The new pope, Pope Leo XIV, isn’t likely to visit the exhibition. However, at the end of
the exhibit, visitors get the next best thing — a Pope Leo selfie station.
Joan Miltenberger, Natalie Coope, and Dan Kohler, all staff at Pax Christi Catholic
Community in Eden Prairie, take a selfie with a cutout of Pope Leo XIV at “Vatican
Unveiled.” (Anthony Soufflé/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Where: Enter through the Mall of America’s main entrance. Exhibition is on the second
floor across from J.W. Marriott, 2141 Lindau Lane, Bloomington.
Cost: $30
Info: archspm.org/vaticanunveiled
