The Bishops' Conference of Scotland is to move all its agencies to a single location in Glasgow.
The relocation to Orr Street in the Calton area of the city, will include the Scottish Catholic Archives and the Scottish Catholic Museum.
Bishop Joseph Toal, who has responsibility for Catholic Heritage and Culture said: “In the chosen location we wish to identify with plans to regenerate the area around St Mary’s, Abercromby Street, which itself has such strong historical and cultural links with the development of the Catholic Church in Scotland through the last two centuries.”
The headquarters will serve not only for the efficient running of the Catholic Church at a national level but as a centre of culture and education for schools, academics and the general public.
The building was previously the school of St Mary’s parish, which once served as the pro-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Glasgow in the mid-19th century and was home to many immigrant Catholics.
Prior to this decision, there were many properties for each agency and consolidating the agencies will contribute to a significant financial saving.
The monument to those who suffered from famine in the Scottish Highlands and Ireland in the 19th century is located on this site.
The presence of the archives and museum in Glasgow will give greater accessibility to the historical records and artefacts of the history of the Catholic Church in Scotland- pre-Reformation, the Penal Laws when Catholicism was banned in Scotland, and the Emancipation of Catholics in 1829 up until the present day.
A statement from the Bishops' Conference said: "This initiative underlines the Bishops’ commitment to a formerly deprived area of the city of Glasgow, to using the richness of our Catholic culture including the famous portrait of Mary Queen of Scots and many Jacobite artefacts to tell our story through the ages, to engaging with the many nearby historical religious sites of the life of St Mungo but also as a means of informing and evangelising Catholics and all people as we look towards the future of the Catholic Church in Scotland.