PORTLAND – Bishop Joseph Gerry, who was thrust into the public spotlight by this year’s priest sex-abuse scandal, plans to submit his resignation a year from now, a diocese spokeswoman said Thursday.

Gerry intends to resume the quiet life of a monk after tendering his resignation on his 75th birthday – Sept. 12, 2003 – as required by church law, said Sue Bernard, spokeswoman for the diocese.

It could take weeks, months or even years longer before the pope accepts the bishop’s resignation and designates his successor.

However long it takes, Gerry looks forward to returning to St. Anselm, the Manchester, N.H., monastery where he lived for most of four decades, the spokeswoman said. He may teach a few classes at adjoining St. Anselm College.

Gerry, a native of Millinocket, was 16 when he enrolled as a freshman at St. Anselm in 1945. He later attended the school’s seminary, was ordained as a priest, taught at the college, and eventually became abbot of the Benedictine monastery.

In 1986, he left St. Anselm to become auxiliary bishop in Manchester. Three years later, he became leader of Maine’s Roman Catholics.

The sex abuse scandal, which erupted in Boston in January, has put Gerry under more intense scrutiny than at any time during his 13-year tenure as head of Maine’s statewide diocese.

The bishop has been blamed by abuse victims for reassigning abusive priests to new parishes following rehabilitation stints. And after he decided in March to remove from ministry any priest facing a credible accusation of abuse, some parishioners criticized him for acting too hastily.

Through it all, Gerry has maintained a low profile in keeping with the Benedictine values of silence and obedience.

He has insisted on keeping meetings with abuse victims behind closed doors.

His diocese has refused to let a Catholic reform group, Voice of the Faithful, meet in its parishes. The group has been highly critical of Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, who helped convince Gerry to become a bishop.

Gerry has declined requests for interviews from the media, discussing the sex abuse scandal publicly only a few times. He was unavailable Thursday to discuss his future plans, Bernard said.