Colloquium Charitativum Novum: Conversations About Peace
Marshal Piotr Całbecki and the Primate of Poland, Archbishop Wojciech Polak, are the hosts of Colloquium Charitativum Novum (June 1, Old Town Hall in Toruń), an international gathering of intellectuals organized as part of the celebrations of the Regional Holiday and inspired by the idea of the historic Colloquium Charitativum, which took place in Toruń in 1645. Among the participants will be Italian lawyer Professor Marta Cartabia, this year’s recipient of the Nicolaus Copernicus Fides et Ratio Award, who will deliver the inaugural lecture.
“The idea of Colloquium Novum is a dialogue between faith and reason, religion and science. We have titled the first edition ‘De pace’ (‘On Peace’) – and I do not think anyone needs an explanation as to why this is the most important subject in today’s troubled times,” explains Marshal Piotr Całbecki.
Participation in the event has also been confirmed by, among others, Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, Metropolitan Archbishop of Kraków; world-renowned intellectual, lawyer, thinker, and scholar Joseph Weiler; former Polish Prime Minister and Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Vatican Hanna Suchocka; Member of the Parliament of the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt Stephen Gerhard Stehli; Finnish-Greek theologian, musician, and auxiliary Orthodox bishop of Tallinn Father Jaakko (Damaskinos) Olkinuora; British clergyman, theologian, and astrophysicist David Adam Wilkinson; Swedish diplomat and lawyer Jan Henrik Amberg; and distinguished Maltese theologian, philosopher, and bioethicist Emanuel Agius.
Before the colloquium begins in the Great Hall of the Old Town Hall in Toruń, a ceremonial meeting will take place in the main auditorium of Nicolaus Copernicus University between Professor Marta Cartabia, Marshal Piotr Całbecki, and Chairwoman of the Regional Assembly Elżbieta Piniewska and this school year’s top scholarship recipients of the regional self-government—students from primary schools, general secondary schools, and vocational schools. The meeting will gather 450 young people.
In the late afternoon, a gala ceremony is planned in the representative interiors of the Dąmbski Palace, during which Professor Marta Cartabia will receive the Nicolaus Copernicus Fides et Ratio Award.
See also: Nicolaus Copernicus Fides et Ratio Award for an Internationally Renowned Constitutional Law Scholar
Beata Krzemińska
Press Spokesperson for the Marshal’s Office
May 20, 2026