Andrew Gregory Grutka (November 17, 1908 – November 11, 1993) was an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as first bishop of the Diocese of Gary in Indiana from 1956 to 1984.

Biography

Early life

Andrew Grutka was born on November 17, 1908, in Joliet,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, the son of Slovak immigrants from

Spišská Stará Ves Spišská Stará Ves (; or ; ; ; ; Goral: Golembarg) is a small town and urban municipality in Kežmarok District in the Prešov Region of north Slovakia. History In historical records the town was first mentioned in 1272. Before the establish ...

. He studied for the priesthood at the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Prie ...

in Rome. Grutka was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on December 5, 1933, by Cardinal Francesco Selvaggiani for the Diocese of Fort Wayne. Grutka was serving as the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of Holy Trinity Parish in

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

, on his final pastoral assignment.

Bishop of Gary

On December 29, 1956, Grutka was named bishop of the newly created Diocese of Gary by

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

. He was consecrated a bishop by Archbishop

Amleto Giovanni Cicognani Amleto Giovanni Cicognani (24 February 1883 – 17 December 1973) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Vatican Secretary of State from 1961 to 1969, and Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1972 until his death. Cicogn ...

Bishops John Cody and Leo Pursley were the principal co-consecrators. From 1962 to 1965, Grutka attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

in Rome and was responsible for implementing the council's reforms in the diocese. In 1959, Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana, was named for his patron,

Andrew the Apostle Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Chu ...

Retirement and legacy

Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

accepted Grutka's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Gary on July 9, 1984. After his resignation, Grutka remained active in the diocese, ministering to parishioners. Andrew Grutka died at his home in

Valparaiso, Indiana Valparaiso ( ), colloquially Valpo, is a city in and the county seat of Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 34,151 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. History The site of present-day Valparaiso ...

, on November 11, 1993, at age 85. He was entombed in the east transept of Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grutka, Andrew Gregory 1908 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Participants in the Second Vatican Council People from Joliet, Illinois People from Gary, Indiana Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend Roman Catholic bishops of Gary Catholics from Illinois American people of Slovak descent