Pope Francis has promoted Nano Nagle, the founder of the Presentation Sisters, on the ladder to sainthood.
The Vatican's announcement said the Pontiff had bestowed the title "Venerable" on the 18th century Cork woman.
She had already been declared a Servant of God in 1994, a move that placed her on the first of four steps to canonisation.
Nano Nagle was born in 1718 to wealthy parents in Balgriffin, Co Cork, and was educated in Paris.
Aged 36, distressed by the plight of the poor, she founded her first school in a two-room cabin in Cove Lane in Cork city.
Two decades later, in 1775, she founded the Presentation Sisters with a mission to bring the gospel message to people on the margins of society.
The congregation founded hundreds of schools here and around the world.
Its leadership team is based in Monastrevin, Co Kildare, from where it oversees the work of 1,200 sisters worldwide – 650 of them in Ireland.
In a statement the congregation's leaders expressed their delight with the pope's decision.
Head of the Leadership Team Sister Mary Deane said that by proclaiming Nano Nagle “Venerable”, the Universal Catholic Church had recognised her as a woman of faith, hope, and heroic virtue whose vision and work transformed the lives of very many.
She added that for the Order's Sisters, associates, and for the friends of Nano throughout the world, the Venerable Nano had been, and continues to be, a source of inspiration and challenge as they respond to the needs of today in fidelity to the gospel and in her spirit.
Sr Mary also announced that a celebratory mass to mark the announcement will take place in Cork next month along with a series of smaller events across Ireland and in the congregation's areas across the world.
