Duluth Pastor Visits Vatican, Returns with Baseball Signed by the Pope

Father Kunst traveled to Rome last week and met Pope Francis, but the Pope also signed his baseball.

"I was on cloud nine. I was pumped," said Father Kunst. "I am a student of papal history, and the papacy is something that's my passion, so for the opportunity to converse with the Holy Father is a big deal."

Although the conversation only lasted a minute and there were some language barriers, a long-awaited moment finally arrived.

Why a baseball?

"The rarity and uncommon nature of it," said Father Kunst. "You can bring something like this out to people not interested in the faith and a signed baseball would still maybe speak to them a bit."

Kunst was also able to bring the Pope a DVD copy of the EWTN series that he hosts.

That airs Monday at 5:30 p.m. on the EWTN network.