Dom

Don (honorific)

Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...

Francisco I de Saldanha da Gama (May 20, 1723 – November 1, 1776) was the third cardinal patriarch of Lisbon

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lisbon

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lisbon is an Archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Portugal. Erected as the Diocese of Lisbon in the 4th Century, the Diocese was elevated to an Archdiocese in 1392...

 (from 1758).

He studied canon law

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

 at Coimbra

Coimbra

Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...

 and was appointed a cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...

 by Pope Benedict XIV

Pope Benedict XIV

Pope Benedict XIV , born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758.-Life:...

 in 1756, and named Patriarch of Lisbon on July 25, 1758. He was the great-grandson of Margarida de Vilhena and a descendant of the first viscount of Vila Nova de Cerveira

Vila Nova de Cerveira

Vila Nova de Cerveira is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 108.6 km² and a total population of 8,752 inhabitants .The municipality is composed of 15 parishes and is located in the district of Viana do Castelo....

, Leonel de Lima. His father was João de Saldanha da Gama (1674–1752), forty-first viceroy of India

Portuguese India

The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...

.

On April 1, 1758, a brief was obtained from the aged Pope Benedict XIV

Pope Benedict XIV

Pope Benedict XIV , born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758.-Life:...

, appointing Saldanha, recommended by the Marquis of Pombal, to investigate allegations against the Jesuits

Suppression of the Jesuits

The Suppression of the Jesuits in the Portuguese Empire, France, the Two Sicilies, Parma and the Spanish Empire by 1767 was a result of a series of political moves rather than a theological controversy. By the brief Dominus ac Redemptor Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus...

 that had been raised in the name of the Joseph I of Portugal.