In his 21 years wearing the collar, new Holy Maternity of Mary Priest Richard Altine has become used to being on the move.

Starting his career in the clergy at St. Philip’s in Battle Creek, the priest served at several churches across southwest Michigan, including Kalamazoo, New Salem and his hometown of White Pigeon before coming to St. Anthony’s in Buchanan in 2013.

His experience with travel will continue to serve him well, as Altine was recently placed in charge of five parishes across Cass and Berrien counties, including Dowagiac’s Holy Maternity, Silver Creek Township’s Sacred Heart of Mary, St. Anthony’s, Decatur’s Holy Family and Berrien Springs’ St. Gabriel’s.

Altine took over leadership of the churches in July, where he handles both administrative duties in the back offices on weekdays and religious ceremonies in the chapels on weekends.

“It is just a little change in my life,” he said, with a grin plastered across his face.

If the burden of running five churches is getting to him, he certainly is not letting it show, as he joked around with staff members inside the Holy Maternity parish office Wednesday morning, his jovial laughter reverberating throughout the building.

A “cradle Catholic,” Altine moved around the country with his parents and siblings as a young child before they eventually settled down in White Pigeon. Spending several years studying business and accounting at Ferris State, Altine returned home before finishing his studies in order to provide for his family after his father died, he said.

Working for years as a cook (he continues to cook today as a hobby, with prime rib being his specialty) and as a bus driver with the White Pigeon school district, Altine’s faith was always a huge part of life. He has volunteered for years at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. In addition to overseeing the grounds keeping and cemetery at the church, Altine was part of the team that helped establish White Pigeon Cares, a food pantry and clothing donation center that is still operating today, he said.

“It has been my lifelong desire to want to help people,” he said. “Whether it has been through cooking, driving school buses or volunteering at my church, it was always something I wanted to do.”

His altruism led him to eventually decide to join the priesthood, studying for five years at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Wisconsin.

Living for many years in the next county over, Altine said he is most comfortable serving in small towns like Dowagiac or Buchanan.

“I like working with rural communities,” Altine said. “I’m not just content with just sitting in an office all day. I like to get out to meet the people, whether I’m at a restaurant or at an event.”

A gregarious people-lover by nature, the priest is known by many area Catholics as “the priest with the laugh,” for his distinct belly laugh, he said. His light-heartedness carries over to how he interacts with his parishioners be it one-on-one or during Mass, bringing a sense of levity to the faith, he said.

“We are far too serious as a world,” Altine said. “We need to laugh at ourselves more. If you are not living with some joy and hope, you are really missing out.”