title: Roman Triptych
text: # Roman Triptych
  
  "Roman Triptych: Meditations" is a forty-page poem by Pope John Paul II, composed of three parts: Stream, Meditation on the Book of Genesis, and A Hill in the Moria Land. Originally written in John Paul II's native Polish after a visit to his homeland of Poland, the poem was translated to Italian by Grażyna Miller, and published in 2003 simultaneously in Poland (as Tryptyk Rzymski: Medytacje) and the Vatican (as Trittico romano, Meditazioni).
  
  The poem has since been translated into languages including English (by Jerzy Pietrkiewicz), French, Spanish, and German. A Polish audio version was recorded by actor Krzysztof Globisz.
  
  Roman Triptych received praise from philosopher and historian Stanisław Grygiel [pl], poet and Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz, poet Marek Skwarnicki [pl], and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, several of whom were close personal friends of John Paul II. It was especially popular in Poland, selling out 80% of the initial print run of 300,000 copies before the official launch date.
  
  