(KAIR)--An agreement is signed, clearing the way for the establishment of a new independent medical school on the campus of Atchison’s Benedictine College.

According to a release, representatives of the Catholic college, including President Stephen Minnis, and Wildwood, Missouri-based Catholic Healthcare International “signed a Collaborative Affiliation Agreement between the two entities [Thursday] during the annual meeting of the Catholic Medical Association, in Denver, Colorado.

Minnis, in the release, says he believes the proposed medical school “will be one of the most faithful Catholic medical schools in the world.”

The college decided on the September 8 signing date due to the date being the Feast of the Nativity of Mary.

The release explains that the “proposed Saint Padre Pio Institute for the Relief of Suffering, School of Osteopathic Medicine at Benedictine College is an independent institution that will be located on the college campus,” and will be “a separately licensed, governed, financed and accredited entity that is not part of Benedictine College.”

According to the college, the medical school fits into the college’s new strategic plan, Transforming Culture in America, which states that “STEM education is a particular emphasis of Benedictine College,” which “instructs the college to advance the mission through science and health care by forming students comprehensively in bioethics and fostering external relationships.”

The release notes that discussions in the planning of the medical school included local officials “as the medical school is expected to make a significant positive impact on Atchison.”

According to Minnis, “it is vital to train future doctors at a place like Benedictine College that understands the essential role of faith and morality in the sciences.”

The planned medical school is not yet accredited or approved to make offers of admission.