His Eminence Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko

His Eminence Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko was born in Andrychów (Poland) in 1945, ordained a priest in 1969. He was consecrated Bishop in 1996 and elevated to Cardinal in 2007.

He studied philosophy and theology in The Faculty of Theology in Cracow during 1963-1969. He continued his studies in the Gregoriana University in Rome in 1972-1978. He was a professor of Pastoral Theology and Sociology in The Pontifical Academy of Theology in Cracow in 1978-1987. He was also secretary of the Polish Bishops Commission Conference for the Laity .

In 1987 he began his work at the Pontifical Council for the Laity. He was made responsible for the Youth section of the Council and coordinated the World Youth Day in Santiago de Compostela (Spain); in Czestochowa (Poland); and Denver, Colorado (USA). He was transferred to the Polish section of the Secretariat of State in 1992 working closely with John Paul II. The Holy Father named him Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Laity in 1995. He was promoted to the President of the same Council in 2003. On behalf of the Holy See he organized the World Youth Day in Cologne,(Germany) in 2005, he has been involved in preparing the incoming WYD in Sydney, Australia for 2008. Cardinal Stanislaw Ryłko is President of John Paul II’s Foundation.