ST. FRANCIS (AP) – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland’s newest priest was ordained over the weekend. It was a celebration for the Rev. Kent Ouellette, but the fact he comprised the entire class of 2005 underscores a problem facing the church.

The ordination by Bishop Richard J. Malone in Ouellette’s hometown at St. Charles Church is the only one in the Maine diocese this year.

Ouellette, 47, entered the seminary to study for the priesthood after being an engineer for 20 years in New Hampshire and Maine.

“Life was good, but when I looked inside myself, something was missing,” he said minutes before the weekend ceremony. “This feeling kept growing in me, and I could no longer say no’ to my feelings, and I just had to see further.”

The Diocese of Portland is currently embarking on a restructuring that takes into account the declining number of priests and shifting population. The church estimates there will be about 61 diocesan priests in 2010, down from the current 97.

Before entering the seminary in 2000, Ouellette worked for National Semiconductor Inc. in South Portland and Sanders Associates of Nashua, N.H.

He will serve as a parochial vicar in the parishes of St. Joseph, St. Andre and St. Mary’s churches, all in Biddeford, Malone said.

Ouellette was the youngest of 11 children of Julienne and the late Adelord Ouellette of St. Francis. His family sat at the front of the church, surrounded by extended family and scores of friends in the small northwestern Maine community.

His mother, 92 and in a wheelchair, brought a Communion chalice to Bishop Malone, who then presented it to Ouellette on Saturday.

Malone called Ouellette a “man on a mission.” Malone said it was a “holy mission, a sacred mission” to be a teacher, a priest and a shepherd to the faithful of northern Maine, the entire state and beyond.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-06-06-05 1039EDT