Three former Anglican congregations have asked to be received into the Roman Catholic Church, according to The Irish Catholic Newspaper.

Former Church of Ireland congregations in Down, Tyrone and Laois have asked the Vatican for "full, corporate, sacramental union" under the authority of the Pope, according to the newspaper.

A spokesman for the congregations has confirmed the developments, saying that the members of the traditional rite of the Church of Ireland did hope to be received into "full communion with the See of Rome".

At an October plenary meeting of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), the umbrella organisation for traditional Anglicans, the congregations decided to petition Rome for entry into the Roman Catholic Church.

According to a statement from the TAC, "The bishops and vicars-general unanimously agreed to the text of a letter to the See of Rome seeking full, corporate, sacramental union.

"The letter was signed solemnly by all the College and entrusted to the Primate and two bishops chosen by the College to be presented to the Holy See," the statement added, according to the BBC.

The traditional rite broke away from the Church of Ireland in 1991, after the House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland decided to start ordaining women.

It is considered extremely rare for entire Anglican communities to seek corporate communion with the Catholic Church, and the move will mean every member of the parish converting to Catholicism, as the parish effectively becomes part of the Catholic Church.