HERNDON — Lightning from an early Wednesday morning storm damaged a portion of the roof of St. Louis de Montfort Academy, an all-boys’ boarding school near Herndon.

John Drake, an instructor at the Christian academy, said he was asleep in a nearby staff residency building at about 3 a.m. when he was awakened by a thunder clap.

“I could smell smoke before I could see the fire,” Drake said, describing how the lightning apparently struck a corner of the roof of the three-story brick building just a few yards away.

No students were at the school, but Michael Shibler, a visiting 2000 graduate, was alone on the third floor of the 60-year-old building that was struck, but wasn’t stirred by the storm or fire.

Firefighters from Herndon, Dalmatia, Hickory Corners and Klingerstown spent three hours at the scene.

Drake said the fire was contained to the roof, but he didn’t immediately have an estimate of the damage.

The Aug. 23 start of the 2008-09 school year will not be affected, he said.

The boarding school accommodates up to 23 male students in grades 7-12 who are taught by four teachers who use the Seton home study curriculum.

Opened in 1995 by Drake’s brother, Raymond, of Spring Grove, the academy caters to the sons of the members of the Foundation for a Christian Civilization, who are predominately home-schooled and follow a more traditional aspect of the Roman Catholic faith.

According to an online profile of the foundation, also known as the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, it was founded in 1973, employs 42 people and reports annual sales of $6.4 million.

“It’s very much in line with traditional Catholicism,” Drake said of the academy’s teaching.

Students at the academy attend Mass daily in Shamokin, followed by a strict schedule of academic classes and physical education at the academy situated on a 17-acre lot off Route 3010 in RR1 Herndon. In addition to the four instructors, there are four employees who maintain the buildings and grounds.

Drake couldn’t say what led his brother to purchase the land and former retirement house from the late Marty Fels.

“It’s a beautiful area and I got an absolutely fantastic education,” said Shibler, a Kansas native who studied for five years at the school and now works in public relations for the foundation.

The environment may be rural, but the student body is diverse, with boys hailing from across the United States and from as far away as Lithuania, Ireland and Scotland.