page_title: Bishop's Palace, Kraków
section_title: John Paul II
hierarchical_section_title: Bishop's Palace, Kraków / John Paul II
context_page_description: The Bishop's Palace in Kraków is the seat of Kraków metropolitan Curia, Poland, and the traditional residence of Kraków bishops since the late 14th century. It is the second largest palace in the city after Wawel – former seat of the Polish monarchs. It is part of a monastery complex of the Franciscan Religious order. Bishop's Palace is best known for being the residence of Pope John Paul II during his stays in the city. He used to give his blessings and talk to his followers from a window above the main entrance at night.
context_section_description: The palace, usually closed to the visitors except for a museum, is one of the more popular religious destinations connected with the life of Pope John Paul II. Between 1958 and 1978 the palace was a residence of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, who in October 1978 became the first Slavic Pope in history, adopting the name John Paul II. Wojtyła had first lived in the complex during World War II, when he was a student of the clandestine Kraków Archdiocese Seminary run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha during the Nazi Occupation of Poland. Following an August 6, 1944 Nazi roundup of thousands of men and boys in Kraków, in which Wojtyła narrowly escaped capture, Sapieha insisted that the seminary students stay in the Bishop's Palace until the Germans left the city. Wojtyła was ordained to the priesthood soon after the end of war, on November 1, 1946, by Sapieha in his private chapel. Housed not far from the palace (at ul. Kanonicza 19 street) is the Archdiocesan Museum (Polish: Muzeum Archidiecezjalne) where many relevant artifacts can be found.
  Following John Paul II's death on April 2, 2005, some 40,000 Catholics gathered in front of the palace for a night vigil and prayer (pictured). On each anniversary of his death, thousands of flowers are placed around the building and many fires are lit. The window above the entrance is known as the "papal window", as from here John Paul II spoke to the crowds that gathered to see him. In the courtyard stands a statue of John Paul II sculpted and gifted to the palace by artist Jole Sensi Croci in May 1980.
caption: Palace during ceremony, April 3, 2005
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