New Director of Our Foundation's Science Center in Rome

Rome: Fr. Mirosław Cichoń, PhD, Is the New Director of the John Paul II Pontificate Center The Center for Documentation and Research of the Pontificate of John Paul II in Rome, operated by the John Paul II Vatican Foundation, has appointed a new director. The Administrative Council of our Foundation has named Rev. Fr. Mirosław Cichoń, PhD, former Prefect of the Higher Seminary of the Archdiocese of Kraków, to this position. He succeeds Rev. Fr. Prof. Andrzej Dobrzyński, who served at the Center for more than 18 years. A One-of-a-Kind Institution Worldwide The Center is one of the institutions belonging to the John Paul II Vatican Foundation and is among the largest and oldest academic centers in the world dedicated to the pontificate of the Polish Pope. Its mission is to document, promote, and develop the teachings and heritage of St. John Paul II. The institution was established by a papal decree signed by St. John Paul II in the Vatican on October 16, 1981. The Center is located at Via Cassia 1200 in Rome, within the Pilgrim House operated by our Foundation. From 1981 to 2024, Sisters of the Congregation of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus worked at the Center. Over more than 44 years of activity, the Center has prepared nearly 50 book publications and dozens of scholarly and popular articles. It has also organized numerous academic conferences in cities such as Rome, Paris, Lugano, and Kraków, along with thematic meetings and various exhibitions in Italy, Poland, and other countries. For several years, the Center has hosted one of the postgraduate JP2 Studies courses for students at the Angelicum University in Rome. The Center comprises three departments: the Archive, the Library, and the Museum. The Archive preserves the writings of Karol Wojtyła from his episcopal period (1958–1978) and papal period (1978–2005), as well as audiovisual, photographic, and philatelic materials. The Library holds an impressive collection of more than 30,000 volumes in all European languages and some oriental ones. The Museum houses gifts presented to the Pope during audiences, pilgrimages, and private meetings, totaling approximately 20,000 exhibits from various fields of art. Its rich history, extensive activities, abundant resources, international recognition, and, above all, its uninterrupted operation for nearly half a century, initiated by St. John Paul II himself, make the Center a unique institution worldwide. The New Director: Fr. Mirosław Cichoń, PhD From this point forward, this exceptional institution in the Eternal City will be led by Rev. Fr. Mirosław Cichoń, PhD. He was born on June 28, 1979, in Wadowice, the hometown of St. John Paul II. After completing his primary and secondary education, he pursued studies in telecommunications at AGH University in Kraków. He then began his formation and studies at the Higher Seminary of the Archdiocese of Kraków, preparing for priestly ordination, which he received in 2009 from Card. Stanisław Dziwisz.