St Kevin's College, which has been under Christian Brothers ownership since 1927, will be transferred to the Catholic Diocese of Dunedin later this year.
While the brotherhood appoints its own representative to the school's board of trustees, it has not had staff at the school for at least the last 20 years.
St Kevin's College principal Paul Olsen confirmed the change this week.
He said the brothers' involvement with the school was not as prevalent as it once was, so it made sense to transfer its ownership.
"The brothers have said there are only two schools they have in New Zealand, St Kevin's and St Thomas of Canterbury, in Christchurch. They're saying it's probably better the local diocese manages them, so they are handing over ownership of St Kevin's to the Dunedin diocese.
"It's a logical development that allows all of the Catholic schools in the diocese to be under one umbrella of the bishop of Dunedin (St Kevin's) and the bishop of Christchurch (St Thomas of Canterbury).''
Other than the possible elements of financial and strategic planning, Mr Olsen said there would be no changes to how the school operated day-to-day.
However, the influence the Christian Brothers had instilled in the school would remain.
"The Christian Brothers have had a strong influence on the values of the college. That's developed over the years and that will continue. The Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, Michael Dooley, has indicated he will continue the work of the Christian Brothers and continue with the values of the school.
"I think it's important that the wider community understands the work that has been started here is first of all supported and secondly, will be continued. Whenever you have change you have to take your community with you and make sure they understand the implications of that.''
