Following Pombal's fall from grace in 1777, Manuel do Cenáculo lost much of his influence at court and directed his attention to ecclesiastical life while, at the same time, spearheading the creation of public schools, libraries, and academies across the country; chief among them are the Évora Public Library, the Library of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, and the art and archaeology collection that nowadays comprises the Frei Manuel do Cenáculo National Museum.
