In June 2026, the finals of three different papal competitions took place, all financially and organizationally supported by the Vatican John Paul II Foundation.
The first was the Papal Competition for secondary‑school students, whose 22nd edition gathered over 1,800 participants this year.
Since its very beginning, the competition has been organized by the Tertio Millennio Institute, and our Foundation joined as co‑organizer last year. The final took place on Saturday, 13 June, at the Archbishop’s Palace in Warsaw. For several months beforehand, participants studied texts of Saint John Paul II related to this year’s theme, “Words Make a Difference”, reflecting on the role of the word in today’s world. To reach the final stage, students completed two rounds: an online test based on papal literature and an original essay. The best finalists presented their theses orally before the jury in Warsaw. For the second time, Fr. Tomasz Podlewski, PhD — Director of the Media and Events Office of our Foundation — served as a jury member. The laureates received, among other prizes, “golden admissions” to selected university programs, material awards, and a trip to Rome. The trip took place in July, during which Fr. Podlewski met with the winners. Our Foundation supported the competition with 10,000 PLN.
On Friday, 19 June, the final of the 2nd National Art and Film Competition “Lead Us, Saint John Paul II” for primary‑school students took place at Belweder Palace in Warsaw.
The competition was organized by the Parliamentary Team for the Heritage of St John Paul II. Our Foundation joined the sponsors this year, supporting the initiative with 3,000 PLN. Fr. Tomasz Podlewski participated in the final alongside representatives of state authorities and cultural institutions connected with the heritage of the Polish Pope.
The following day, on Saturday, 20 June, the prestigious Papal Competition for university students and doctoral candidates was held at the Warsaw headquarters of Teologia Polityczna.
The main prize consists of annual scholarships for the international JP2 Studies program in Rome, each worth 65,000 PLN. This year marked the sixth edition of the competition organized by Teologia Polityczna, and our Foundation has co‑organized it since 2025. Participants submit an original academic essay inspired by the teaching of the Polish Pope. The work must meet the highest academic standards and demonstrate independent, creative thinking. Ten young intellectuals reached this year’s final. The jury — which evaluated the essays and selected three winners based on oral defenses — included, for the second time, Fr. Tomasz Podlewski, spokesperson of our Foundation.
The main prizes were awarded as follows:
-1st place (ex aequo): Marta Gastoł (doctoral candidate at the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School, University of Warsaw) and Monika Szymczak (student of family studies at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw)
-2nd place: Konrad Kozłowski (law student at the University of Wrocław)
-3rd place: Kacper Łądkowski (doctoral candidate in social sciences at Jagiellonian University in Kraków)
As last year, the John Paul II Vatican Foundation funded all three scholarships, worth a total of 195,000 PLN.
In total, thanks to the generosity of our donors, we allocated 228,000 PLN to the three competitions mentioned above and to the papal competition for students held as part of the Saint John Paul II Days at the Pontifical Universities of Rome. In doing so, we seek not only to fulfill our statutory mission but also to help form future intellectuals, leaders, and individuals responsible for shaping the Church and the world in the spirit of the values upheld by our Founder, Saint John Paul II.
