The Concordat of 1855 was a Concordat or agreement between the Holy See and the Austrian Empire as regards the Catholic Church in Austria. The Austrian Bishops' Conference was established in 1849 and agreed to a Concordat which would grant them greater scope in a variety of areas. They were granted full control over their own affairs, including making appointments. The Catholic church was also placed in charge of 98% of public primary schools, i.e. those nominally Catholic and controlled the curriculum. The Catholic ecclesiastical courts were given jurisdiction over marriages where either or both the couple were Catholic.