A total of 112 Catholic secondary schools, including schools in every county in the Republic, have come under the control of a new trust set up by five religious congregations.
Yesterday, Catholic Education - an Irish Schools Trust (Ceist), a limited charitable company, took responsibility for trusteeship of the Catholic voluntary secondary schools, which make up 31 per cent of the faith-based secondary schools in the Republic. It represents one of the most significant changes in the trusteeship of Catholic schools in Ireland since the foundation of the State.
The congregations are the Daughters of Charity; the Presentation Sisters; the Sisters of the Christian Retreat, the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. They have appointed 18 members to oversee the trust and a board of directors to manage its affairs.
Day-to-day management will be the responsibility of each school's management, in accordance with the Education Act 1998, with support from the trustees from a central office, based on Maynooth's business campus.
Speaking on behalf of the congregations, Sr Elizabeth Maxwell, of the Presentation Sisters said: "We have spent 10 years preparing for this day. Our founders, both lay and religious, were driven by their faith and the needs of their time to provide education, based on gospel values.
"Today we live in different times and education is available to all. Our faith-based education mission will continue through Ceist with the growing support of our lay colleagues."
Speaking on behalf of the Irish Bishops' Conference, Bishop Leo O'Reilly said the bishops supported the move and looked forward to working closely with Ceist in promoting a vibrant Catholic sector in Irish education.
Jack O'Brien, chairman of Ceist, said it was " a truly historic development in Irish education".
He said "the challenge for Ceist and the new trustees is to build on the great achievements of its predecessors in providing a holistic education in the Catholic tradition".