Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś among new cardinals
Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś, Metropolitan of Łódź, was among the new cardinals whose names were announced today by Pope Francis after the Angelus prayer. The consistory, at which the Holy Father will present the cardinal insignia to the twenty-one cardinal nominees, will occur on 30 September this year.
Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś was born on 9 February 1964 in Krakow. He entered the Krakow Theological Seminary in 1982 and was ordained priest on 22 May 1988 by Cardinal Franciszek Macharski in Wawel Cathedral in Krakow. Parallel to his theological studies, he studied at the Faculty of Church History of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, where, after one year of pastoral work as vicar of the parish of St. Margaret and St. Catherine in Kęty, he was employed and undertook doctoral studies. He obtained his doctorate in 1994 and his habilitation (post-doc) in the humanities in history in 2000.
From 2004 to 2007, he was Director of the Archives of the Metropolitan Chapter in Krakow, and from 2007 to 2011, he was Rector of the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Krakow. In 2010-2011 he presided over the Conference of Rectors of Theological Seminaries in Poland.
On 28 September 2011, he received the episcopal sacrament from the hands of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz. He adopted the following motto in his coat of arms: Virtus in infirmitate (Strength in weakness).
From 2005 to 2017, he headed the Chair of Church History in the Middle Ages and then the Chair of Ancient and Medieval History at the Institute of History of the Faculty of History and Cultural Heritage of the Pontifical University of John Paul II. He was a member of historical commissions in beatification trials, including the beatification process of John Paul II. In 2017, he was honoured by the Society of Lovers of Krakow History and Monuments with the prestigious Klemens Bąkowski Award.
During his time in Krakow, he combined fruitful academic work with pastoral involvement: from an early stage, he was actively engaged in the World-Life Movement, actively participated in the life of the Neocatechumenal Way, communities such as the Christian Brotherhood of the Sick and Disabled and namARKA, and for 25 years he was the annual group leader of the 6th Krakow Walking Pilgrimage to Jasna Góra.
Involved in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, he was co-creator and lecturer of the course “ABC of Christian-Jewish and Polish-Jewish relations” (since 2010), initiator of the meeting for peace with the participation of Christians, Jews, and Muslims “Echo of Assisi in Krakow” (2011), as well as the series of meetings “Courtyard of the Gentiles” dedicated to the dialogue between believers and non-believers in the formula proposed by Pope Benedict XVI.
From 2013 to 2017, he was a member of the chapter of the Rev. Stanisław Musiał Prize awarded by the “Przymierze” Club of Christians and Jews for services to Christian-Jewish dialogue. From 2012 to 2018, he was a member of the International Auschwitz Council. In 2019, he was awarded the Medal of the 75th Anniversary of the Jan Karski Mission by the Jan Karski Society.
On 14 September 2017, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, he was appointed Archbishop Metropolitan of Łódź by the Holy Father Francis.
On 13 October 2017, during the 377th Plenary Meeting of the Polish Bishops’ Conference in Lublin, he was elected to the Permanent Council for a first five-year term.
On 4 November 2017, the feast of St Charles Borromeo, his solemn ingress to the Cathedral of Łódź, took place.
On 29 June 2018, he received the pallium from Pope Francis, solemnly imposed on him on 5 October 2018 in the Cathedral of Łódź by the Apostolic Nuncio in Poland, Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio.
On 25 June 2020, he was appointed apostolic administrator sede plena of the diocese of Kalisz by Pope Francis and, from 17 October 2020, apostolic administrator sede vacante.
At the Polish Bishops’ Conference, he has chaired the Team for the New Evangelisation at the Commission for Pastoral Care of the Polish Bishops’ Conference since 2011. Together with the Team, he established the National School of Evangelisers, organised Congresses of the New Evangelisation in Kostrzyn (on evangelisation), Warsaw (on parishes), Skrzatusz (on villages), Częstochowa (on confirmation), Gniezno (on family), as well as retreats for Polonia in Germany, France, England and twice in the United States. For World Youth Day, he established the International Centre for Evangelisation in Krakow (2016).
www.archidiecezja.lodz.pl / Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference
Translated by Sr. Ewa Dobrzelecka/ Office for Foreign Communication of the Polish Bishops’ Conference
