On 6 February 2026, a meeting of the Chapter of the Benedict Polak Award was held at the Royal Castle in Łęczyca. The Chapter comprises representatives of four entities: the Warsaw Scientific Society, the Polish Chapter of The Explorers Club, the City of Łęczyca, and Łęczyca County. The laureates of this year’s edition were selected – three outstanding scientists and researchers in the categories of Polish and Foreign recipients.
Twelve candidates were submitted for the Benedict Polak Award in the category of Polish researcher/explorer, and five in the category of foreign researcher/explorer.
In the first category, the Chapter selected Dr Symeon Czesław Stachera OFM as the Laureate.
Father Symeon is a Franciscan, anthropologist, theologian, and philosopher, and a graduate of universities in Poland, Bolivia, and Spain. For over thirty years, he has carried out scientific and missionary work in South America and North Africa, particularly among the indigenous peoples of Bolivia and in Morocco. He is the author of groundbreaking research on sultanic documents, which significantly enriched knowledge of history and Christian–Muslim relations. His academic achievements and efforts to promote intercultural dialogue have been recognised, among others, by the authorities of the Kingdom of Morocco.
The laureate in the foreign category is Prof. Jean-Pierre Majoral – an outstanding French chemist and a world-class specialist in the chemistry of organophosphorus compounds, as well as in biology and medicine. He is the author of more than six hundred scientific publications and forty-two patents, and the creator of innovative methods for synthesising dendrimers of biological and medical significance. His scientific output and contributions to the development of Polish–French cooperation have been honoured with numerous prestigious awards and memberships in international academies of science.
This year, the Chapter also awarded a Special Distinction for a foreign researcher. Among the recipients is Mandar Shrikrishnie Purandare – an artist, actor, musician, translator, and lecturer of Hindi at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. For years, he has been building bridges between Polish, European, and Indian culture through theatre, improvised music, and translation work, including translations of Bolesław Leśmian’s poetry into Hindi and Marathi.
The meeting was chaired by Prof. Mariusz Ziółkowski, the Chairman of the Chapter, together with the Vice Chairwoman, Krystyna Pawlak.
The Benedict Polak Award ceremony will take place on 6 June 2026 in Wrocław.
The Benedict Polak Award has been presented since 2015 to outstanding exploratory and research achievements conducted on land, at sea, in the air, and in space. Its aim is to honour scientists and explorers whose work expands the boundaries of human knowledge and fosters intercultural dialogue.
More photos available on the Łęczyca City website:
https://leczyca.info.pl/kultura/nagroda-im-benedykta-polaka/