INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

Marshal Piotr Całbecki took part on Saturday (20 December) in the solemn ingress of the new Archbishop Metropolitan of Kraków, Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś. “On the ancient Wawel Cathedral – the same see once held by Karol Wojtyła before his election as pope – has taken his seat a friend of our region, a frequent guest in Kujawy and Pomorze, the first laureate and now a member of the chapter of the Nicolaus Copernicus Fides et Ratio Award. Deo gratias!” wrote the head of the region on social media. He emphasized that participating in the event was an honor for him.

“Brother among brothers. This is a synthesis of what the Holy Spirit has been saying to the Church with growing insistence in recent years. (…) The fundamental and most important dignity in the Church is shared by us all. It is equal and it is baptismal. All of us in this Church co-create the home. We are co-responsible. We need community in discernment; we need mutual listening and shared attentiveness to the Holy Spirit. We need an exchange of spiritual gifts among everyone. We need a spiritual, profound quality of relationships – one to which we must continually be converted,” said the new Metropolitan of Kraków in his homily. He stressed that “the Church does not exist for itself.”

Among those attending the ceremony in the packed archcathedral basilica at Wawel were, among others, the Apostolic Nuncio to Poland Archbishop Antonio Guido Filipazzi; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz; senior figures of the Catholic Church; and representatives of the city authorities and the Małopolska regional government. The regional self-government was also represented by Grzegorz Borek, the Plenipotentiary of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Regional Executive Board.

Cardinal Ryś – one of the most recognizable Polish clergymen, a charismatic pastor, and a highly regarded medieval historian (holding the academic degree of habilitated doctor) specializing in the history of the Catholic Church and an author of books – was born in 1964 in Kraków. He later studied at the Major Seminary and the Pontifical Academy of Theology (now the Pontifical University of John Paul II), was ordained a priest, and served as an auxiliary bishop. He also lectured at the Pontifical University of John Paul II. From 2017, for eight years, he served as Archbishop Metropolitan of Łódź. Within the Polish Bishops’ Conference, he chairs the Council for Religious Dialogue and the Committee for Dialogue with Judaism, and is also a member of the Standing Council, the Council for Culture and the Protection of Heritage, and the Council for the Family. He is likewise a member of the Dicastery for Bishops and the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments of the Roman Curia. His episcopal motto is “Virtus in infirmitate” (“Strength in weakness”).

The Archdiocese of Kraków is regarded as the second most important archdiocese in Poland (after Gniezno). Among Cardinal Ryś’s predecessors as Metropolitan of Kraków were Adam Sapieha, Karol Wojtyła, and Franciszek Macharski.

Beata Krzemińska
Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office

22 December 2025