The pastor at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church in Apex was a member of last seminary class before Vatican II. And his first assignment after seminary was an integrated high school in the Greensboro area.

His long career includes a strong connection to Southeast Asia, where he spent three months in a Vietnamese refuge camp in the Philippines.

At age 76, he now presides over a young parish with about 1,400 families; only about 30 people are older than him.

In other words, he saw 142 second-graders receive First Communion this year but only four funerals.

The church recently celebrated his service at a church festival that drew 2,000 people. In an interview, he talked about hitting his 50th anniversary.

Q: You describe many of the paths your life has taken as "happy accidents." Why?

A: I went on a camping trip to Florida with some friends. We were forced to leave by the mosquitoes. So we drove to a beautiful place - Morrow Mountain State Park (in Albemarle).

Later, in seminary, while I was raising money for the Catholic Student Mission Crusade, an organization that helped the poor in our country, we ended up raising money for a priest in Hayesville, N.C. He invited us down to visit and asked that I consider being a priest in North Carolina. At the time, North Carolina was only 0.5 percent Catholic, or about one in every 200 people. I asked permission to come to North Carolina, and I never regretted my choice.

Q: How do you balance the long history of tradition in the Catholic Church with the inevitable changes that occur?

A: Sometimes, I'm not crazy about the changes that occur, and sometimes, I like them. But most of them don't change the nature of what I do.

During Advent this year, there are going to be some big changes coming. Some common prayers will have new wording, new translations. People will have to read the new versions and won't know them by heart. The church wants to express more accurately the Latin meaning.

It is remarkable how things do shift when someone new is in charge, whether it is the Pope, a bishop or even a pastor. One person can have enormous influence.

Q: This summer, you will visit Vietnam for the 13th time. What will you do during your visit this time?

A: I tell people that I can visit China Beach more cheaply than Myrtle Beach, and it's beautiful. I will be going back to visit people I know. I'll be going to the wedding of a boy I have known since he was 3 years old.

I will also travel to Bangkok to visit some boys who escaped after riots in a village and the government confiscated peoples' property. I had given a computer to one of the boys who escaped. Right now, they are under the care of the U.N. and considered "religious refugees." Now they must find a country that will take them in.

Q: Do you have any goals for St. Mary Magdalene over the new few years?

A: We will start trying to raise money in 2012 for a church building. We built the school and the gym first, and hold mass in the gym. We are fine for now, as far as space, but we will need to think ahead and build a large enough church for future growth.

It will be a challenge. The I-540 toll road is only a quarter-mile away, and while the next three to four years might not see tremendous growth, I know it is coming.

Q: Do you have any plans to retire?

A: The past bishop required everyone to retire at 75. I am very grateful that (the current bishop) said I could just keep working if I felt I could.