Colloquia Theologica Ottoniana

The article constitutes an interdisciplinary reflection on the material and non-material heritage of the family of the Servant of God Jadwiga Zamoyska and her son Władysław, chosen by the Sejm (the lower house of the Polish Parliament) and Senate of the Republic of Poland as the patrons of the years 2023 and 2024. Thanks to the descriptive method, on the basis of studies and source materials, the author presents an overview of the family’s groundbreaking social activity. Multi-generational patriotic engagement, resulting from Christian faith and values, shaped not only their freedom-fighting activities, but also charitable, educational, cultural and scientific works. This presentation utilises a tripartite composition of the text. The isolated, but intersecting historical-social, pedagogical and patriotic themes illustrate external initiatives undertaken for internal, spiritual reasons. In Part I, Verba docent, exempla trahunt, thanks to selected examples, the historical context and patriotic traditions of the Działyński and Zamoyski families are presented. The significant consequences of Jadwiga’s relatives’ participation in the independence uprisings are presented, i.e. the loss of property, the necessity to emigrate, and, on the other hand, the numerous undertaken aid initiatives (educational, charitable, economic). In Part II, Non scholae sed vitae discimus, the author presents Jadwiga’s education, her proprietary innovative model of education implemented in her institution, including the Women’s Household Work School, the principle of tripartite work (physical, mental and spiritual), as well as examples of her own publications (e.g. “O wychowaniu”). Part III, Pro publico bono, corresponds to the idea followed by the Zamoyski family: “To serve God, by serving the homeland, to serve the homeland, by serving God.” All actions or initiatives undertaken by the family (the development of Zakopane, the court dispute over the Morskie Oko lake region, the renovation of the castle and expansion of the Kórnik Library collections) were aimed at serving Poland’s independence. The family’s decision to transfer all of its goods (Zakopane and Kórnik) to the Polish nation and to establish the Zakłady Kórnickie Foundation was a crowning achievement in their multi-generational patriotic work.