Founded in May 1953, the Catholic University of Petrópolis was the first higher education institution installed in the city of Petrópolis. It began with the creation of civil society Colleges Catholic Petropolitanas at the initiative of then Diocesan Bishop Dom Pedro Manoel da Cunha Cintra. The first course offered by the new institution was the law, installed in 1954 in a building in Retiro neighborhood. In 1956, with the acquisition of the building where worked for a long time, one of the finest hotels in the area, Hotel Orleans, in the Amazon Baron Street, also was created the School of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters and, later, Industrial Engineering. In 1961, the merger of three faculties resulted in the founding of the Catholic University of Petrópolis The institution was recognized by Decree 383, of December 20, 1961, published in the Federal Official Gazette on December 21, 1961. The university was formally installed on March 11, 1962 and then experienced strong expansion, the opening of new courses. At the end of the 60s, the university acquired the facilities of the College Notre Dame de Sion, in the Rua Benjamin Constant, and led to the space throughout its administration and much of their students. The new campus, founded the Application School, which aimed to provide training field and research students of the Faculty of Education. In the early 70s, the institution became city postcard with the opening of the Flower Clock, Set in front of the Dom Pedro Manoel da Cunha Cintra, in the Amazon Baron Street.