The Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (University of the Sinos Valley, often abbreviated as Unisinos) is a private and non-profit Jesuit university, located in São Leopoldo, in Greater Porto Alegre. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Brazilian universities. It is maintained by the Antônio Vieira Association, which is the legal name of the Jesuit Province in Southern Brazil, a part of the Society of Jesus, founded by Saint Ignatius of Loyola. In 1869, in São Leopoldo, in Rio Grande do Sul State, Jesuits found Colégio Nossa Senhora da Conceição, the first official school in Rio Grande do Sul. The Cristo Rei School of Philosophy, Sciences and Literature becomes official in 1953. It is later named São Leopoldo School of Philosophy, Sciences and Literature, and continues to expand. Precisely one century after the beginnings of Colégio Nossa Senhora da Conceição, on July 31, 1969, Saint Ignatius of Loyola's Day, Unisinos receives official recognition as a University. It is also part of a network of more than 200 Jesuit colleges and universities worldwide, with 2.2 million students. As a Jesuit university, Unisinos embodies almost five centuries of tradition.