PUC-Rio was the first private higher education institution in the country, created by the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1940 by Cardinal D. Sebastião Leme and Father Leonel Franca S.J. The university operates under the supervision of the Society of Jesus and under the supreme authority of the Cardinal Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro as its Grand Chancellor. PUC-Rio is a non-profit philanthropic institution. It is thus a Catholic university based in Christian humanistic principles. It welcomes students, staff members, teachers, researchers and administrators of all religions, nationalities, ethnic groups and social classes. The referential starting-point of PUC-Rio is the complete development of the human being in two main perspectives: the philosophical and the theological. Besides that, it is a doctoral research institution that focuses primarily in the development of academic and scientific knowledge.