Its foreign department publishes stories by correspondents all over the world, including Europe, the United States, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

[2] Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha helped found the weekly magazine Tygodnik Powszechny, whose first edition was published on 24 March 1945, during the closing months of World War II.

Initially, its editorial staff had four people: Jan Piwowarczyk, a priest; Jerzy Turowicz, editor-in-chief for many years; Konstanty Turowski and Maria Czapska.

Later, they were joined by Zofia Starowieyska–Morstinowa, Stefan Kisielewski, Leopold Tyrmand, Antoni Gołubiew, Paweł Jasienica (until he was arrested by the communists in 1948), Stanisław Stomma, Hanna Malewska and Józefa Golmont–Hennelowa.

Columnists have included prominent clerics, such as Karol Wojtyła (later Pope John Paul II), academics and poets, journalists and other writers, including Władysław Bartoszewski, Jerzy Zawieyski, Jacek Woźniakowski, Stefan Wilkanowicz, Adam Szostkiewicz, Leszek Kołakowski, Stanisław Lem, Zbigniew Herbert, Wojciech Karpiński, Tadeusz Kudliński and Czesław Zgorzelski.

According to an analysis by Jarosław Gowin, presented in his book Kościół w czasach wolności ("Church in the Times of Freedom"), the magazine is one of the main representatives of "open" Catholicism, inspired by Catholic personalism.

In the time of the People's Republic of Poland (PRL), Tygodnik Powszechny was known to be the magazine that allowed publishing of some criticism of the communist authorities, although within the boundaries set by state censors.

Many people involved in the magazine participated in the political changes of the era (Józefa Hennelowa, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Krzysztof Kozłowski).

Resumption of independence paradoxically coincided with an increased assault of secular left-wing parties and liberal groups directed against the Church, the Episcopate as well as against the Pope.

Accusations and slanders about clericalism were multiplying as well as those about the alleged intention of the Church to rule Poland and about hindering political emancipation in the Polish society.