List of Polish cardinals
Cardinals are senior ecclesiastical leaders of the Catholic Church, almost always ordained bishops and generally holding important roles within the church, such as governing prominent archdioceses or managing dicasteries within the Roman Curia. They are created in consistories by the pope and one of their foremost duties is the election of a new pope (invariably from among themselves, although not a formal requirement) when the Holy See is vacant, following the death or the resignation of the reigning pontiff.