On Saturday, 12 October, on the eve of the XXIV Papal Day in Poland, the gala of ‘TOTUS TUUS’ Awards granted by the ‘Work of the New Millennium’ Foundation took place at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The statuettes were presented in four categories and a special prize was also awarded. In the category ‘propagation of the teachings of John Paul II’ the Totus Tuus Award was given to Father Andrzej Dobrzyński, scientist and publicist, director of the Centre for the Documentation and Research of the Pontificate of John Paul II in Rome. In its justification, the Chapter emphasised ‘the scholarly and writing output devoted to St John Paul II, lectures all over the world popularising the Pope’s teaching and the overwhelming kindness rendered to the recipients of this content’.
After receiving the Award, Fr Dobrzyński addressed the gathering with words of thanks, stressing that he understood this distinction as an appreciation of the work done so far by the small team of staff of the Centre, especially by the religious sisters from the congregation of the Servant of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Cracow, popular name in Polish “sercanki”), and he also expressed his personal hope that the Centre would soon have a new headquarters in the centre of Rome, which would have an impact on the further development of the institution.
Fr Andrzej Dobrzyński’s words after receiving the ‘Totus Tuus’ Award:
Eminence, Excellencies,
Ladies and GentlemenI would like to thank very much the Award Chapter and the ‘Work of the New Millennium’ Foundation for the award. I do not consider myself an expert on the teaching of John Paul II. My achievements in this area, the publications and the organised symposia, are the result of my work in the Centre for Documentation and Research of the Pontificate of John Paul II in Rome, which belongs to the Vatican Foundation established by the Holy Father in 1981. The Centre has existed for over 40 years, it operates thanks to the support of the Polish emigrants and it consists of a library, an archive and a collection of musealia. It is made up of a small group of two or three persons.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to the authorities of the Vatican Foundation, to my predecessors and to the friends of the Centre, but I am particularly grateful to the Sisters of the Congregation of the Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose contribution to the work of the Centre is immense. I see this award as a recognition of the achievements of a modest team of people, to which sisters, ‘sercanki’, make a great contribution.
When I was recommended to work at the Centre in 2007, it was a Cyrenean mission for me. Over time, however, I have become attached to this task, for better or for worse.
I am convinced that the Centre should develop as a scientific and research institution, located not on the periphery as until now, but in the centre of Rome. In this way, it should become an important point of reference testifying to the influence of Polish Christian culture, the culture which formed Karol Wojtyła, and to the influence of the legacy of the pontificate of Saint John Paul II, which inspires and points the way forward for today’s and future generations. This idea and its realisation today are possible. They are – I believe – in line with the goals of the activity of the John Paul II Vatican Foundation, as well as with the vital mission of the Polish Church and Polish culture.
The phrase ‘our Pope’ cannot mean ‘your Pope’. The point is that the witness of his life, and even more so his teaching, should be an inextinguishable light on the paths of the universal Church, culture and humanity, which have been crossing in the Eternal City for two millennia. In this regard, the Centre for the Documentation and Research of the Pontificate of John Paul II in Rome can play a significant role. I interpret today’s award as an appreciation of the Centre’s work to date, for which I thank you once again.
Fot. BP KEP