The Pontifical Academy of Theology

The Pontifical University
of John Paul II

Uniwersytet Papieski Jana Pawła II w Krakowie
Main building at ul. Franciszkańska
Type	Public
Established	1981
Rector	Prof. dr hab. Władysław Zuziak
Students	3 500
Address	ul. Kanonicza 25, 31-002 Kraków, Kraków, Poland
Campus	Urban
Website	http://upjp2.edu.pl/eng/

The Pontifical University of John Paul II (Polish: Uniwersytet Papieski Jana Pawła II w Krakowie) is an academic institution located in Kraków, Poland, that offers graduate degrees in theology, philosophy, and church history. It derived from the theology faculty of Jagiellonian University established in 1397. The theology faculty was expelled from the university by Communist authorities in 1954. Remaining under the supervision of the Vatican, the faculty received the honorific title of "Pontifical" in 1974 and was established as an Academy of Theology by Pope John Paul II in 1981 before becoming the Pontifical University of John Paul II in 2009.

The Faculty of Theology at the Kraków Academy (now Jagiellonian University) was first established at the request of Queen Jadwiga and her husband Jagiełło. On 11 January 1397 Pope Boniface IX signed a bull patent allowing for the foundation of the Faculty. In the restoration act of 26 July 1400 the Faculty of Theology was listed as the most important faculty of the Academy. Professors of the Faculty were involved in the christianization of Lithuania. In 1817 Kraków Academy became Jagiellonian University in commemoration of Poland's Jagiellonian dynasty.

Throughout the existence of the Kingdom of Poland and further, during the partitions, and after the return to independence in 1918, most rectors of the Kraków Academy were drawn from theologians, who would become its most prominent personalities. Thanks to their reputation and the greatest number of students, the Academy was one of the main centres of Polish theological learning.