On June 18, 2025, Friar Zdzisław KIJAS was awarded the Medal of Merit of the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow, Poland. The ceremony took place in the University’s library.
“Today we express our gratitude to those who laid the foundations of our University as we know it today,” said the Rector, Father Robert TYRAŁA. Our confrere was one of eight University employees who retired this year. “He worked at the University for 30 years,” recalled the Vice Chancellor, Father Antoni ŚWIERCZEK.
At the same event, the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej DUDA, posthumously awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta [Order of Restored Poland] to the late Professor Włodzimierz SIEDLIK. His wife and children accepted the award from the hands of Mrs. Andżelika MOŻDŻANOWSKA, an advisor of the President.
In addition, the Most Reverend Jan KOPIEC, Bishop Emeritus of Gliwice, Poland, was given the “Amicus Universitatis” award during the ceremony.
The Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow is descended from the Faculty of Theology of the University of Cracow (late 14th century).
Friar Zdzisław KIJAS has been associated with several foreign universities over the years. He served as the Rector of the Pontifical Theological Faculty of St. Bonaventure (Seraphicum) in Rome and as a Relator of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. He is an expert for the Holy See’s Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Universities and Ecclesiastical Faculties and is the current Postulator General for the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. He is also the author of dozens of books in the fields of theology, hagiography and anthropology, and has written a three-volume novel. His books have been translated into several languages and published in various countries. He has authored some five hundred scholarly articles, published in Poland and abroad. Despite his many responsibilities and functions, he continues to do pastoral work as an active preacher.
Friar Jan M. SZEWEK
