Andrew Grutka was born on November 17, 1908, in Joliet, Illinois, the son of Slovak immigrants from Spišská Stará Ves.

Grutka was ordained a priest on December 5, 1933, by Cardinal Francesco Selvaggiani for the Diocese of Fort Wayne.

[2] On December 29, 1956, Grutka was named bishop of the newly created Diocese of Gary by Pope Pius XII.

In 1959, Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana, was named for his patron, Andrew the Apostle.

Pope John Paul II accepted Grutka's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Gary on July 9, 1984.