As the Vatican announced on Wednesday, Cardinal Grzegorz Rys (61) will take over the office of Archbishop from Marek Jedraszewski (76).
Pope Leo XIV accepted Jedraszewski's resignation due to his age at the same time.
Rys is thus returning to his native city of Krakow. The 61-year-old most recently headed the Archbishopric of Lodz. Rys, who is considered open to reform, is one of two Polish cardinals; he was elevated to this rank by Pope Francis in 2023.
His predecessor Jedraszewski had led the Archbishopric of Krakow since the beginning of 2017, making headlines with nationalist statements and a negative attitude towards non-heterosexual people ("rainbow plague"), feminism and gender studies, among other things.
Krakow, where the future Pope John Paul II was Archbishop from 1964 to 1978, is one of the most traditional dioceses in Central Europe.
Dealing with abuse
In October, Rys set up an independent commission to investigate cases of sexual abuse of minors in his archdiocese of Lodz from 1945 to the present day. It is headed by a judge. Only one other Polish diocese has a similar commission.
Rys took this step in response to the delay in the Bishops' Conference's investigation into cases of abuse.
Rys is committed to combating anti-Semitism and xenophobia. In a recent pastoral letter, he clearly criticised hatred and "fear of foreigners".
The Church teaches "that every person has the right to choose a place to live" and to be respected there in their faith and culture, he wrote. "Christianity is not a tribal religion."
The previous head shepherd in Krakow, Jedraszewski, on the other hand, was considered a sympathiser of the right-wing opposition in Poland.
He repeatedly criticised the EU and Germany.