The Centre for Thought of John Paul II was established to investigate, document and disseminate John Paul II’s teachings in an innovative way. We create a meeting place for people inspired by the unusual Pontificate of the Polish Pope. We lay a particular emphasis on work with young people. We are a municipal institution of culture of the City of Warsaw established in 2005 on the strength of the Council of Warsaw’s decision and started our work on the 1st of April 2006. In keeping with our statute and the resolution of the Council of Warsaw, we carry out our activity in four dimensions:

Scholarships: we carry out recruitment and coordinate the activities of young people awarded Warsaw scholarships named after John Paul II. In summer 2006 we travelled with our scholarship holders along the same routes Karol Wojtyła covered.

Research and education: we organise conferences, summer schools, seminars and post-graduate studies, conduct research, publish projects and prepare teaching aids. We cooperate with the most outstanding Polish scientists (primarily with sociologists, historians, political scientists and theologians) as well as foreign research centres. We carry out long-term sociological research on the influence of John Paul II’s personality and pontificate on shaping the identity of Poles.

Popularisation: we organise exhibitions, media and multimedia projects, competitions and mass events. We prepared Poland’s biggest multimedia exhibition devoted to John Paul II. We were also the main organisers of the Warsaw commemoration of the second anniversary of John Paul II’s death. On this occasion we staged a monumental oratory event transmitted live by TVP1 - the major public TV channel in Poland, as well as symphonic concerts, a theatre play and a street exhibition. We conducted charity actions and published a CD with papal speeches as well as a book containing the so far unpublished 1978 interview with Cardinal Wojtyła. We also organized a conference of leading Polish social scientists who, on the basis of the report from social surveys conducted by the Centre, debated the fruits of John Paul II’s pontificate in Polish society.

Archives: We obtain and collect sound and visual materials connected with Karol Wojtyła - John Paul II. In our archives we have several dozen unique interviews with his friends and collaborators. Since the establishment of the Centre on the 1st of April 2006, we have completed over 63 projects for more than 1 500 000 people. We have issued more than 125 000 copies of various publications and collected memorabilia of about a thousand objects connected with John Paul II. 19 000 people visited our multimedia exhibition. Thanks to this, we are regarded as one of the most dynamically developing cultural institutions. According to the major Polish social research centre TNS OBOP, 86 percent of Poles are of the opinion that an institution like our Centre is necessary. We cannot disappoint them.