From a modest beginning in 1994 with a single school and a little more than 500 pupils, the system of Catholic schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina developed to its 7 currently functioning Catholic School Centres, with 14 schools and 4683 enrolled pupils. From the beginning these Catholic schools were open equally to Catholic and non-Catholic children. This intentional and strategic choice emphasised, once again, that the Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina stands on the side of those who oppose separation and segregation across the lines of national or religious affiliations. In committing itself to the education of all the country's youth, the Catholic Church saw a way to promote and reinstall into the body of Bosnia and Herzegovina's crippled society values of a peaceful and a harmonious coexistence of different people based on the respect for sanctity of each person and importance of its religious, cultural, and national identity.