Pope Leo XIV Picks Progressive Bishop for John Paul II’s Home Diocese

In a historic changing of the guard for Poland, Pope Leo XIV has appointed Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś — widely seen as “Pope Francis’s man” in the Polish Church — to the Archdiocese of Kraków.

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At Kraków’s Archbishop’s Palace — once home to Karol Wojtyła (the future St. John Paul II) — snow was on the ground as the Vatican announced Pope Leo’s decision on Nov. 26: Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś of Łódź would become the new Archbishop of Kraków.

Ryś succeeds Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski, 76, whose resignation was accepted that day.

This appointment makes history in Poland.

Kraków is the nation’s most prestigious diocese, and for the last nine years it was led by Jędraszewski — a prelate who often took partisan positions and left the local Church deeply divided.

Many priests felt distant from their archbishop, and lay faithful grew weary of his politicized tone.

Now, Pope Leo has sent in a very different kind of shepherd.

Cardinal Ryś (pronounced “Reesh”) is a native of Kraków and a protégé of its legacy.

He was ordained a priest in Kraków’s “golden age” under Cardinal Wojtyła and even served as an auxiliary bishop there.

But it is Ryś’s track record in Łódź — where he has been archbishop since 2017 — that explains why this transition is being celebrated as transformative.

In Lodz, he gained renown as an energetic pastor who “transcends boundaries” and “will always be with the people,” as one local rector put it.

Ryś organized massive youth gatherings, launched new seminary programs, and pioneered a “synodal process” of listening in his dioceseosvnews.com.

Under his leadership, the Lodz archdiocese even established an independent commission to investigate clergy abuse — a bold step other Polish bishops had delayed.

This hands-on, reform-oriented style stood in stark contrast to Kraków’s top-down status quo.

A Synodal Pastor at the Helm

From the moment his appointment was announced, Cardinal Ryś made it clear he stands in continuity with Pope Francis’s vision of the Church.

“It was Pope Francis who taught me the understanding of the Church,” Ryś said this week. “From him, I learned everything I believe in regarding the Church… I can’t imagine another Church than the one Francis taught us.”

Those words rang out like a manifesto: the new man in Kraków openly embraces the very approach to Catholicism that some of his brother Polish bishops resisted.

Ryś has long been “seen in Poland as an extremely progressive bishop, as Poland’s ‘Pope Francis man’” — not because he opposes traditional doctrine, but because he consistently emphasizes dialogue, mercy, and closeness to the people.

He has championed ecumenical and interfaith initiatives and empowered laity in church leadership.

He even earned the nickname “the Lynx of Łódź” (a play on his surname, which means lynx) for his alert, visionary leadership styleground.news.

Vatican commentator Austen Ivereigh dubbed him “Mr. Synod” among Poland’s bishops, due to his lived commitment to a “listening Church” that “shares the mission with the whole people of God.”

Now “Mr. Synod” is heading to the very diocese that forged John Paul II — a potent symbol that tradition and renewal can go hand in hand.

“From [Pope Francis], I learned everything I believe in regarding the Church… I can’t imagine another Church than the one Francis taught us,” Cardinal Ryś declared after his appointment.

The significance of this change in Kraków is hard to overstate.

For years, Poland’s hierarchy was seen as a bastion of conservatism. Several prominent Polish bishops were lukewarm — if not openly critical — about Pope Francis’s priorities.

Ryś was one of the few who candidly defended Francis. Here’s how he challenged his more conservative colleagues.