He was the sixth son and ninth child of Casimir IV Jagiellon, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his wife Elizabeth of Austria, known as 'Matka Jagiellonów' (Mother of the Jagiellons).

After the death of Bishop Jan Rzeszów, he was elected Archbishop of Kraków on 13 April 1488.

After the death of Zbigniew Oleśnicki on 2 October 1493, he was appointed Archbishop of Gniezno (and Polish Primate at the same time).

His position in the Polish Church strengthened after his promotion to cardinal by Pope Alexander VI on 20 September 1493,[2] having received the title of Sanctae Lucia in Septomsoliis in December that year.

He died in the Bishop's Palace in Kraków after a long illness, in March 1503.