"I made it a requirement that I be allowed to wear clerics on the show because it's a reflection of who I am," he told the Catholic Digest.
"After filming, one of the other contestants said something along the lines of, 'Thank you so much for being such a joyful witness of your faith and the priesthood. Even though I am not Catholic, I got a sense of the joy that you have in who you are and what you do. Thank you for sharing that with us.'"
Father Schnippel told CNA that being on a baking show could also help break down stereotypes that some people have of Catholic priests, seeing them only as an austere religious figure.
"There is this impression in our world that priests are always serious, they only do religion. I wanted to break down that [perception], and say 'hey, we are still real men. We still have interests and excitement in a lot of other ways'," he said.
"You can take the priesthood very seriously, but also still have a lot of fun."
When asked about his favorite moments from the show, he said that he enjoyed the positive feedback offered by the judges and the baking comradery that developed between the contestants.
Even during the competition, there were acts of encouragement and support, he said, pointing to moments when he was able to help other contestants remove food from the oven or stack items when they needed an extra hand.
"That came back to me later, just those memories of encouraging each other and supporting each other makes this particular show very positive for Christmas."
And while he was not allowed to talk about the outcome of the competition, Fr. Schnippel expressed hope that his participation in the show would inspire people to face daunting challenges in their own lives.
"I hope that what people will take from the show is accepting a challenge where they may not think that they can do it. I never thought I would be able to get on this show. So taking the risk and doing something extraordinary, you never know what's going to happen."
Perry West is a staff writer for Catholic News Agency. He graduated from Franciscan University with his bachelor's in English. Prior to his job at CNA, he worked in construction staffing and coffee.