Reverend Richard B. Kunst
St. James Catholic Church
Duluth, MN
Sponsor: Rep. Pete Stauber, (R-MN)
Date of Prayer: 05/08/2019
One Minute Speech Given in Recognition of the Guest Chaplain:
Mr. STAUBER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my friend, Father Richard Kunst, an ordained Catholic priest for the Diocese of Duluth in northern Minnesota.
Before ordination, Father Kunst was a Senate staffer for United States Senator Rod Grams out of Minnesota. He earned his B.A. in political science from Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minnesota,
and a master of divinity from Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Father Kunst has had several parish assignments in northeastern Minnesota, including parishes in Brainerd, Cromwell, Floodwood, Meadowlands, and three different assignments in Duluth. He was the vocations director for the Duluth diocese for 12 years and has been the bishop's representative for the diocesan newspaper, The Northern Cross, since 2005. Father Kunst has also been the auditor of the diocesan tribunal since 2000.
As a hobby, Father Kunst collects artifacts associated with the
history of the Vatican and the popes and has one of the largest private collections in the world.
I consider Father Kunst to be a great friend to my wife and me, and I
am grateful that he can be here today to open this wonderful Chamber up with a prayer.
Opening Prayer Given by the Guest Chaplain:
Heavenly Father, we pray blessings upon the proceedings of this Chamber this day. May the Members of Congress and all government officials see their authority to govern as a sharing of Your authority, O Heavenly Lord.
And to this end, may the deliberations of today and always support the right of every citizen of the United States to have life, liberty, and the pursuant of happiness. And may our Nation's motto, "In God We Trust," be more than simple words on our currency but, rather, the true spirit in which our great Nation is governed.
We ask that You continue to be present to this great Nation and to answer our prayers by Your great love.
Amen.
To learn more about Members who have sponsored a Guest Chaplain, please visit the Congressional Biographical Directory