The Triumphs (Triumphi) by Petrarch is a series of six poems honouring the allegorical figures of Love, Chastity, Death, Fame, Time and Eternity, who vanquish each other in turn. The Italian poem sequence was virtually unknown in Poland (although a Polish translation of The Triumph of Love appeared c. 1630, only few readers would have read it as it was circulated exclusively in a small number of hand-made copies). The illustrations, however, caught the eye of the printers and became immediately popular. They depicted each of the victorious figures riding on triumphal chariot, followed by procession of captives. This article examines the Polish verses inspired by the illustrations rather than the text of the Trionfi i.e. written in the course of the late 17th and 18th century.

The author of the most remarkable poetic response to the pictorial representations of Petrarch's Triumphs was Samuil Gavrilovich Piotrowski-Sitnianowicz (aka Symeon of Polotsk). As a student of the Academy of Wilno, he came across an emblem book with copperplate engravings of the Triumphs designed by Maarten van Heemskerck in 1565. His Polish verses (composed c. 1650–1653) follow loosely the Latin epigrams (subscriptiones) by Hadrianus Junius (Adriaen de Jonghe). Symeon of Polotsk was the first Polish-language author whose verses reflected in extenso the pictorial representation of the Triumphs (before him verses inspired by Petrarch's allegories had been written by Mikołaj Rej, Maciej Stryjkowski and Stanisław Witkowski).

Wespazjan Kochowski's volume of miscellaneous pieces in verse published in 1674 includes an epigrammatic poem The Triumph of Love, inspired by Plate One of the Triumphs. However, Kochowski's description suggests that he must have seen an engraving showing Cupid's victims under his feet. That iconographic variant appears, among other, in the woodcuts of Bernard Salomon (1547) and the copperplates designed by one of van Heemskerck's pupils (mid-16th century) or Matthäus Greuter (1596).

The following two poems were written about a century later. In 1779 Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin published in his second volume of Erotyki [Erotic poems] a song called The Triumph of Love. Its scenic arrangement, inspired by the illustrations of Petrarch's first Triumphus, is adapted to present twenty-one pairs of suitors. The description is stylized in conformity with the current Rococo manner and spiced up with touches of parody. A similar treatment of this subject can be found in some 17th-century paintings, for example in the Triumph of Love by Frans Francken the Younger, or an identically titled picture by the Italian Baroque artist Mattia Preti. The other poem, On the picture of the 'Triumph of Death', can be found in Franciszek Karpiński's Zabawki wierszem i przykłady obyczajne [Diversions in Verse and Moral Exemplars] published in 1780. It names eleven preeminent ancient conquerors and rulers, all cut down by Death personified by a scythe-wielding skeleton. Karpiński's description was no doubt inspired by a copperplate engraving produced by Silvestro Pomarede and designed about 1748–1750 by Gianantonio Buti after Bonifacio de' Pitati. In each of the two prints most of the figures on the ground round the chariot are identified by name. It may also be noted that Karpiński rounds of his poem with two stanzas evoking the last plate in the cycle, The Triumph of Eternity.

In the last phase of Franciszek Karpiński's life as a writer (the first quarter of the 19th century), he practically gave up poetry and concentrated instead on writing memoirs. This article tries to find out to what extent his autobiographical work, especially his Historia mego wieku i ludzi, z którymi żyłem [A History of My Century and the People with Whom I Lived], is influenced by an attitude characteristic of the sentimentalism of the previous century. As this analysis shows Karpiński's narrative exhibits both a sensitivity much indebted to Rousseau's autobiographical method and skilful shifts of tone, from satire and irony to various shades of melancholy. For sentimentalist aesthetic and poetics the continual manipulation of tone is a means of alerting the reader to the world's complexity. As in the novels of Lawrence Sterne, that complexity is experienced by way of careful observation of fragments of reality, defined by the subjectivity of the observer and the truth of his emotions.

This article deals with a debate in the pages of the interwar press over a memorial landscape park opened in 1932 at Żelazowa Wola, the birthplace of Fryderyk Chopin. Designed by Franciszek Krzywda- Polkowski, the park provoked a flood of opinions and commentaries from contemporary cultural luminaries. The discussions raged mostly in literary periodicals as well as popular newspapers and magazines. The article attempts to reconstruct the narrative patterns of the debate around its two poles, represented by the admirers and opponents of Krzywda-Polkowski's innovative design.

The author presents a series of publications by Franciszek Ziejka related to his stays in France and Portugal in 1970–1973 (Aix-en-Provence), 1979–1980 (Lisbon) and 1984–1988 (Paris). At that time, Ziejka disseminated knowledge about the language, Polish literature and culture in those universities, and at the same time, in libraries and especially archives, he undertook research on the culture of these countries and the presence of Polish literature and culture. The result was groundbreaking studies on the relationships and contacts of Polish artists and writers with representatives of Western creative circles. In these studies, Ziejka expanded our traditional knowledge of the presence of Polish culture in the West and discovered new traces of it, including those sometimes associated with such famous artists as Chopin, Joseph Conrad or Zygmunt Krasiński.

The issue of tenderness has never been the major topic of moral theology. It is enough to have a quick look at the most popular dictionaries of moral theology to see the total absence, or only a marginal presence, of this issue both in the doctrinal teaching and the catalogue of virtues. The article presents specific 20th-century philosophical and theological attempts to tackle the issue of tenderness that were introductory to the theology of tenderness suggested by Pope Francis. The article presents different approaches to tenderness in Pope’s theology and its existing examples. Pope Francis seems to understand tenderness as a mode of existence and relations with other people that correlates with the mode of being a Christian in the world, because this is the way of showing God to the world. This way of life is characterized by empathic closeness, life focused on the gift of self, a real participation in the life of other people with their joys and sufferings, and, last but not least, paternal and maternal care. If we assume that the goal of moral theology is to show authentic human existence in specific places of human life, it has to be said that, following Pope Francis’ teaching, it is impossible to contribute to moral theology and ignore tenderness as the central virtue vital for living the Christian calling.

Pope Francis often speaks about the new evangelization. He notices areas that need a special care of the Church. One of them is the problem of poverty. The Pope encou-rages all the faithful to engage in the transformation of this situation . It can be called a “throwaway culture” and a sign of real poverty of the whole society when people remain indifferent to the cause of the poor. It is one of the negative consequences of the culture of prosperity. The Pope also calls it a “globalisation of indifference” and calls on all people of the three states in the Church to care for those who are poor and abandoned and to act against poverty. In a particular way Francis addresses his appeal to the consecrated persons, encouraging them to contemplate the poor Jesus, to the consecration of their lives through a faithful fulfilment of their vow of poverty and to the apostolate among the poor and the marginalized . By means of such an attitude of men and women religious they would contribute to their own sanctification, to bearing witness to love to the poor before the world and at least partly they will help those in need among whom they live and serve.

The pontificate of Pope Francis has a specific character that does not consist only in spectacular gestures or a new language but is also manifested in the contents of his teaching. The presented paper is an attempt to outline the main message in the teaching of Pope Francis and his most important theological inspirations which explain the point of view and specific theological features of his pontificate. The theology of the people is the starting point of the paper as it is central to Francis’ thought about the Church and constitutes the basis for his understanding of social questions. Then, elements of Ignatian spirituality will be presented as they have impact on the manner of presenting theological themes by the Jesuit Pope. The last point introduces a reflection about mercy, which is the key theological idea in the teaching of Francis and finds application in the understanding of many specific questions. The analysis of Francis’ teaching confirms that it is based on the Bible, the theological tradition of the Church and the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, and shows specific new aspects which have been treated as hardly audible voices in the world Church so far.

One of the most important challenges of the pontificate of Pope Francis is the confrontation with new religious movements, the increasing number of which takes the form of “new Reformation”. A pentecostal movement in which the issue of “prosperity theology” (also known as the “prosperity Gospel”) is an important theological problem, has gained many followers within various Christian denominations. Proponents of the trend which dates back to the turn of the century claim that health and wealth on earth are guaranteed by professing faith in God and praying to Him. The purpose of the article is to explain the essence of this phenomenon and its historical genesis, and to outline its geographical scope. The subsequent section presents a critical assessment of “prosperity theology” in the teaching of Pope Francis. The final stage of the reflection outlines the most important ethical challenges arising from the spread of this “false Gospel”. On the positive side, it is advisable to appreciate the value of the Holy Scriptures. Negative aspects of “prosperity theology”, however, include the false vision of God and man, the revival of the ancient heresies of gnosticism and pelagianism, or incorrect theological interpretation of health, illness and death.

The article is devoted to the memory of Professor Franciszek Ziejka, Rector of Jagiellonian University (1999–2005) and presents the most important areas of his outstanding activity. The Professor was a historian of literature, an expert in Polish culture of XIX century – especially so called “Young Poland” period – and an excellent promoter of Polish literature and history. He had a significant impact on the development of academic life in Poland, as Chairman of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland and initiator of changes to the regulations governing higher education in Poland. Professor Franciszek Ziejka passed away 19 of July 2020.

François Chapeville (Franciszek Chrapkiewicz), an outstanding Polish biochemist, spent his entire adult life in France. After graduating in veterinary and biochemistry there, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Fritz Lipmann laboratory at Rockefeller University in New York. There, he conducted studies that proved that the genetic information encoded in DNA is deciphered in the process of protein biosynthesis via adapter tRNA molecules (adapter hypothesis). In the years 1979–1991 he was appointed director of Jacques Monod Institute of Molecular Biology at the University VII in Paris. He was a great promoter of Polish-French cooperation in the natural sciences. He passed away in Paris at the age of 96. He was buried in his hometown of Strzyżów in the Podkarpacie region.

Struktury architektoniczne powstają na podstawie warunków odczytywanych przez autora jako determinanty jego projektu. W przypadku Centrum Chopinowskiego i Muzeum Chopina w Żelazowej Woli, były to warunki kontekstu przyrodniczo-kulturowego, warunki konserwatorskie, funkcje. Istotne były także zmiany projektu w trakcie realizacji.

The aim of the article is to show the inculturation of faith and the popular religiosity as the context in which Pope Francis’ Marian spirituality and Mariology have been shaped. Inculturation of faith began in South America with Mary’s apparition in Guadalupe in 1531, however, the theological reflection on the importance of evangelization of culture and popular piety developed in South America only after the Second Vatican Council. The milestones in its development are two Conferences of CELAM: in Puebla in 1979 and in Aparecida in 2007. Moreover, the emergence of Argentinean theology of the people in the 1970s played also an important role in its development. Pope Francis, in his programmatic apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium emphasized Mary’s place in popular piety and her role in preaching the Gospel.

The Catholic image of Martin Luther in the course of the centuries evolved from the literally negative one during the time of the Reformation and the centuries that followed, through the theological attempts and historically in-depth analyses inspired by the ecumenical movement up to contemporary acceptance of several theological postulates. Contemporary movements of Roman-Catholic thinking of Luther well summarize historically vulnerable and dogmatically deepened opinions of the recent popes: John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. Following the agreement texts of the Lutheran-Catholic Commission at the world forum, ecumenically open popes can find out in Martin Luther a profoundly religious man, the witness of the Gospel whose theological thought is still relevant and a challenge for the presently secularized world.