Notre Dame principal marks 40 years as a Franciscan monk

For Brother David Migliorino, principal of Notre Dame Regional High School, joining the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, N.Y., 40 years ago was like love at first sight.

He first met the group at St. Francis College in Brooklyn.

"And just being with them, I knew right away that it was what I wanted to do," said Migliorino, who was born and raised in Manhattan. "I always wanted to be a schoolteacher, but when I met the brothers, I saw how joyful they were; how happy. I thought, 'This is two birds, one stone'" -- he could be an educator and live the life of a monk.

Migliorino, dressed in the signature dark brown Franciscan robes and known throughout the community as Brother David, has led Notre Dame for 15 years. Altogether, he's logged 41 years in education.

"I had the nuns in grade school," said the 64-year-old Migliorino, who attended The Epiphany School in Manhattan. "I just loved the sisters, and I wanted to be a teacher because of them. In grade school and in high school, I tended to stutter, and those teachers were wonderful. They would keep me after and work with me to lose that.

"I was so enthralled with the way they cared. The brother in high school who taught me Latin said to me: 'You have a beautiful singing voice. You need to sing your answers and you will lose the stuttering.' ... I was nervous, you know, so I would sing the answers and I didn't stutter.

"From there, I got the confidence, so their lifestyle and their example made me want to do this. Then when I met the brothers in college, I remember coming home from college and saying, 'I want to be a monk.' My parents said, 'That really wasn't part of the plan.' But it was the right thing. You know how people meet a girl, or a girl meets a guy and says [it's] love at first sight? Well, with the brothers, it was that. I knew I wanted to do that. I knew that was for me."

"They had vision and they saw -- especially in Brooklyn; we were always in very poor schools -- they saw this was a way to educate God's unfortunates. I was always drawn to that. I felt very much alive in doing all that," he said.

Notre Dame students and teachers are glad he found his calling. They describe him as caring, selfless, a good teacher and principal, and someone who knows when to be serious and when to have fun.

"I know everything he does is for the school and for everybody else. Everybody can see he has the best interests of others at heart," student Reagan Kapp said.

Biology teacher Laura Halter said what pops to mind about Migliorino is he gives 110 percent, regardless of how the day is going.

"He is more than a boss," Halter said. "He is your true brother; he is your true friend; he is your mentor; he is your rock that you lean on when you need to. He is the head of this ... family. I think that when the head of the family has the work ethic that he does, it makes everybody step up."

Migliorino earned an associate of arts degree in liberal arts from Catholic University, a bachelor of arts in history from St. Francis College and a master's degree in secondary education from St. John's University. He holds a certification in social studies and administration from New York and an educational specialist degree from Saint Louis University, according to the Notre Dame website.

As a member of the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, he studied theology and philosophy, learned the rule of St. Francis and continues on in professional development.

"We try our best to understand all the Franciscan virtues: poverty; the virtue of humility -- I don't do well in that virtue -- love of the poor; self-sacrifice; self-denial. St. Francis had a great love of the Eucharist; devotion to the church and loyalty to the church, so you study all of that during your early years. First you're a postulant; then you're a novice; then you take first vows ... then you ask for final vows and, of course, all along the way you're given guidance and instruction. And just as you're viewing them, they view you [to] see if this life is correct for you," Migliorino said.

In October, Notre Dame held a mass for the Feast of St. Francis, and Brother David renewed his vows.

"And they did a beautiful surprise here: They Skyped in our superior general so he could receive my vows. I was completely blown away by that. Then they had a surprise party for me on Nov. 16. I had no clue. There were about 300 people here. They did 'This Is Your Life, Brother David' and they raised money to help pay down [the] debt of our building campaign in honor of my parents.

"I was deeply touched," he said. "Over $300,000 was raised. ... That's how these people are. They're so wonderful to me."

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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