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Collection of correspondence of papal nuncios in 16th-18th-century Polish-Litvanian commonwealth donated to National Library

A multivolume collection of the correspondence of apostolic nuncios in Rzeczpospolita, Polish-Litvanian commonwealth that existed between the 16th and 18th centuries, has been donated by the Polish embassy to the National Library of Belarus, BelaPAN reports.

Titled, Acta Nuntiaturae polonae, the documents of the Vatican's resident representatives in Rzeczpospolita and in the 1918-1939 Second Polish Republic are viewed by historians as priceless research material, which has until now been accessible only to visitors of the Vatican Library.

Work to compile the collection lasted the last two decades.

The reports of papal diplomats, which were sent from Rzeczpospolita to Rome every week, are especially valuable because they deal with not only religion but also the history of the country, the royal court, different social groups and national communities.

According to Belarusian historian Heorhiy Halenchanka, he was allowed to take pictures of the documents while staying in Warsaw 20 years ago and concluded that they were highly valuable. "Papal nuncios were interested in everything in the world," Dr. Halenchanka explained.

Teresa Chynczewska-Hennel, a member of the Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences who presented the collection to Raman Matulski, director of the National Library, expressed her admiration for the library and hope that the publication would allow Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and Lithuania to take a broader look at their common history.