Jerome F. Gillespie—Assignment Record

Summary of Case: Accused of asking oral sex on 1/25/05 from woman and daughter age 12. Resigned 1/28/05. Pleaded not guilty to enticing child, soliciting sex, annoying/accosting, and assault. Most charges dismissed 4/4/05. Pleaded sufficient facts to annoying/accosting charge. Case continued pending alcohol and sexual offender evaluations with treatment if indicated, and no contact with minors without disclosing case. Case dismissed 2007. Returned to work without announcement. Was Lynnfield supply priest 4/08.

Ordained: 1982
Incardinated: Boston archdiocese

   

Start Stop Parish Town State Position Notes

1982

 1988 St. Agnes Arlington MA 4/4.  
1988 1989 St. Thomas the Apostle Millis MA 2/2. Pastor was Rev. Francis W. Beksha. Deacon was Joseph Arsenault. In 1989 Directory, ordination year not given in index.
1989 1994 Our Lady of the Assumption Lynnfield MA 2/3.  
1994 2001 Sacred Heart Lynn MA Pastor, 1/3.  
2001 9/04 St. Monica's Methuen MA Pastor, 1/1.  
9/04 1/28/05 St. John the Evangelist

Swampscott

• Accused of offering to pay a woman and her 12-year-old daughter for oral sex. Pleaded sufficient facts to annoying/accosting charge. See 1 2 3 4 5. Case dismissed in 2007 after evaluations. See article.

 MA Pastor  
4/08   Our Lady of the Assumption

Lynnfield

 MA Supply priest. See article. Pastor is Very Rev. John E. Farrell, vicar of Vicariate I of Boston's North Region.  


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1983-94); Priest Strikes Deal in Sex Solicitation Case, by Debra Glidden, Daily Item, April 5, 2005.

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Gillespie's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegation as it is reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report. We remind our readers that in the U.S. judicial system, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty.

A Note on Nomenclature: We use the term "assignment record," instead of the more common "service record," because "service" is not an appropriate word for the activities of an abusive priest. Dioceses are often less than forthcoming about the activities of retired priests, but when we can determine those activities, we list them in these assignment records, particularly if they involve ministry. Retired priests remain under obedience to their bishop, and even the activities of laicized priests should be a concern to the diocese.

This assignment record was last updated on 4/26/08.