SWAMPSCOTT -- The Rev. Jerome F. Gillespie resigned yesterday as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Swampscott after he was accused of asking a 12-year-old girl and her mother to perform a sex act at an Italian restaurant in Chelsea Tuesday night.
''Father Gillespie's resignation was accepted in the interest of all parties involved and does not represent any indication of Father Gillespie's guilt or innocence as it pertains to this allegation," the Archdiocese of Boston said in a statement late yesterday. Gillespie did not return a call placed to the parish yesterday.
The Globe reported yesterday that the Suffolk district attorney was seeking the 55-year-old priest in connection with the allegation that he propositioned a girl and her mother. The archdiocese said it learned of the matter Thursday night.
His resignation stunned parishioners at this North Shore church overlooking the sea.
''My own 13-year-old daughter just served Mass with him last Sunday," said Daniel Santanello, 46, a father of three. ''This is the last thing I would have expected to hear of him. . . . I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt, but this is a very serious situation."
Gillespie took over as pastor July 1, replacing the Rev. Thomas Sheehy, who retired. Gillespie was formally installed the Sunday after Thanksgiving in a Mass that drew hundreds of parishioners.
''We enjoyed his sermons," said Dick Lynch, 77, a parishioner for 50 years, who attends weekly Mass with his wife, Joanne.
''We thought he was really going to bring some spark back to the parish," he said. ''It's very difficult for us to believe this has happened."
''It's heartbreaking," said Thomas Driscoll, 45, a father of two, whose family had recently started attending Mass again at the parish, after briefly leaving. ''He was a godsend. So many people had left the parish. People were flocking back."
SWAMPSCOTT -- Parishioners at St. John the Evangelist Church expressed a mixture of sadness and sympathy yesterday for their former pastor who resigned Friday after accusations that he propositioned a 12-year-old girl and her mother for sex while dining at a Chelsea restaurant.
"It's a sad day," said Flo DiPietro, a 53-year-old parishioner. "He is such a good man, he lifted this parish up."
The Rev. Jerome Gillespie, 55, who had served the Catholic parish for only seven months, is scheduled to appear in Chelsea District Court on Feb. 17 to face charges of enticement of a child under age 16, solicitation of sex for a fee, and accosting a person of the opposite sex, police said.
Chelsea police issued the summons on Friday, the same day the Archdiocese of Boston said Gillespie had resigned as pastor of the North Shore parish. Gillespie is alleged to have propositioned the girl and her mother at about 9 p.m. Tuesday while dining at Floramo's, a popular Chelsea restaurant.
At 4 p.m. Mass yesterday, Auxiliary Bishop Francis X. Irwin was in attendance in an effort to reassure parishioners.
"A terrible tragedy has hit this parish," Irwin told the silent congregation. "One so full of promise and vitality is gone from our midst. There is nothing I can say."
But Irwin offered his personal support for Gillespie, whom he said he had known for years and spoke with twice on Friday. "I did admire and do like Father Gillespie," he said. "I tried to give him encouragement."
Irwin made reference to recent pressure in Gillespie's life.
"Here is a man whose brother just had heart problems. He took no days off, he worked under tremendous pressure to be a good and available pastor. I know he is the same good man after as he was before this terrible incident," Irwin said.
Police did not issue a warrant for Gillespie's arrest because he has no prior criminal history to suggest that he would not show up in court, a police spokesman said.
"He has no history of defaults," Captain Brian Kyes said yesterday. "And no [criminal] history at all as far as we know. There is not a strong likelihood that he would not appear in court."
Kyes said Gillespie, who could not be reached yesterday, is being represented by legal counsel.
Gillespie was not wearing priestly garments at the time of the alleged incident. He has cooperated with police since they first made contact with him by telephone at about midnight on Tuesday, Kyes said.
"He was very cooperative when we spoke to him, and has been since," Kyes said.
Chelsea police and the Suffolk district attorney's office are investigating. Gillespie is alleged to have asked the girl and her mother, who were seated at a nearby table, to perform a sex act. Kyes declined to say what Gillespie is alleged to have said, but said the victims are being counseled by the sex abuse unit of the district attorney's office.
While the allegations and resignation have shaken parishioners in Swampscott, Tony LaMorte, 80, said he was grateful the archdiocese sent Irwin to address the congregation.
"What he said was very comforting. We are all going through a very terrible time, Father Gillespie, too."