Brother Michel Bettigole, OSF, retired principal of Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, was awarded the Monsignor Gerald Lawrence Lewis Award for Lifetime Achievement in Catholic Education during the Gibbons Graduation Ceremony on May 28, 2006.

Brother Michel, of the Franciscan Brothers of New York, arrived in Raleigh in 1994 to become principal of Cardinal Gibbons High School and was responsible for transforming Cardinal Gibbons into the thriving high school in its state-of-the-art facility it is today. Not only was he known for his administrative skills, Brother Michel also was a teacher, playwright, editor, and mentor. He was best known as “a friend”.

Jason Curtis, current principal of Cardinal Gibbons, said in a retirement article on Brother Michel in ‘North Carolina Catholics’, “For anyone who has worked in schools, you hope that some of the things you do will have a lasting impact. After he leaves, we’ll continue to be affected by him. He’s left a remarkable legacy in this school – some of it in bricks and mortar and some of it in spirituality”.

Brother Michel lives in Brooklyn, New York.