[2] The palace is a well-preserved example of 19th century architecture, with elements of Polish Renaissance and Baroque decorations including arcaded loggia in the courtyard, added by architect Gabriel Słoński around 1567.

Between 1958 and 1978[6] 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.

[7][8] 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.

[6][10] Following John Paul II's death on 2 April 2005, some 40,000 Catholics gathered in front of the palace for a night vigil and prayer (pictured).

[4][5] In the courtyard stands a statue of John Paul II sculpted and gifted to the palace by artist Jole Sensi Croci in May 1980.