Cardinal Dziwisz was born in 1939 in the village of Raba Wyżna. He has been the Archbishop of Cracow since 2005, appointed by Benedict XVI.

Doctor of Theology, he has received honorary degrees from the Catholic University of Lublin, the Pedagogical University of Cracow, Abat Oliba CEU University in Barcelona, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, and was the long-time personal secretary and friend of Pope John Paul II.

In 1963, he was ordained a priest in Cracow's Wawel cathedral by the-then bishop Karol Wojtyła. Following Karol Woityła's nomination as Cardinal, Father Dziwisz served as his chaplain. As a chaplain, he actively participated in the life of the Cracow curia and taught liturgics at the Cracow Catechistical Institute. In 1978, he left for the Vatican as the newly-appointed personal secretary to Pope John Paul II.

He performed the function until the Pope's death in 2005.

The time spent alongside the Pope formed the groundwork for the book Testimony - a long interview recorded by Italian journalist Gian Franco Svidercoschi.