University authorities
Great Chancellor Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś

Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś was born on 9 February 1964 in Kraków. He was baptised in St Mary's Basilica by the then parish priest of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Fr. Inf. Ferdynand Machay. He graduated from Tadeusz Kościuszko IV High School in Kraków. From 1982 to 1988, he underwent formation at the Major Seminary of Kraków Archdiocese and studies at the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical Academy of Theology in Kraków.
He was ordained a priest on 22 May 1988 by Cardinal Franciszek Macharski at Wawel Cathedral. Parallel to his theological studies, he studied at the Faculty of Church History of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. After a year of pastoral work as vicar at the parish of St. Margaret and St. Catherine in Kęty (now Bielsko-Żywiec Diocese), he took up an academic position there and began doctoral studies. In 1994 he obtained a doctoral degree, and in 2002 he completed his habilitation in the humanities, specializing in history. He was head of the Department of Medieval Church History at the Institute of History, Faculty of History and Cultural Heritage, Pontifical University of John Paul II in Kraków, where he became known as a respected historian, influential in academic and cultural circles, as well as the author of numerous academic and popular works on history and theology.
At that time, he combined his fruitful academic work with pastoral involvement, actively participating in the life of the Neocatechumenal Way, preaching sermons, and leading retreats and days of reflection. From 2004 to 2007, he was Director of the Archives of the Metropolitan Chapter in Kraków, and from 2007 to 2011 he was Rector of the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Kraków. In 2010–2011, he chaired the Conference of Rectors of Catholic Seminaries in Poland.
On 16 July 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Kraków with the Arcavica titular see. On 28 September 2011, he was ordained a bishop by the then Metropolitan of Kraków, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz. The words “Virtus in infirmitate” – “Strength in weakness” – became his episcopal motto. On 14 September 2017, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Holy Father Francis appointed Bishop Grzegorz Ryś as Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Łódź. His ingress to the Archcathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus Kostka took place on 4 November 2017.
On 9 July 2023, he was appointed cardinal. The official cardinal creation took place in St Peter's Square on 30 September 2023. The titular church of Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś became the Roman Church of Sts Cyril and Methodius.
On 26 November 2025, the Holy Father Leo XIV appointed him Archbishop Metropolitan of Kraków. The ceremonial ingress to Wawel Cathedral took place on 20 December 2025. Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś is a member of the Dicastery for Bishops and the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and within the activities of the Polish Bishops' Conference (KEP) he is a member of the Permanent Council of the KEP, Chairman of the Council for Religious Dialogue, Chairman of the Committee for Dialogue with Judaism, a member of the Council for Ecumenism, a member of the Council for Culture and the Protection of Cultural Heritage, and the Council for the Family.
Coat of arms description
The red background shows the blessing hand of Providence emerging from the clouds, a motif from the paten of Bishop Maurus, who died in 1118. Behind it an isosceles ornamental cross, the so-called Crux gemmata. The paten found with the chalice in the bishop's tomb is the oldest liturgical vessel preserved in Wawel Cathedral. It thus refers back to the most ancient roots of Polish Christianity; it also calls for care to preserve and multiply the great historical heritage of faith and culture, of which Wawel is a synthesis.








