Saldanha was sent to Brazil in 1749, travelled to Portugal in 1761, but returned shortly and died in Bahia in 1767.
The lioz limestone blocks for the church were carved in Lisbon and sent to Salvador as ballast for ships.
According to art historian Robert Chester Smith, the design of this innovative church was the best architectural example of Johannine baroque [pt] in Brazil Colony, inspired by buildings such as the Palace of Mafra.
[3][1] The Portuguese court in Lisbon tested saltpeter found in Bahia in the 1750s, a material in demand for the manufacture of gunpowder, and ordered an expedition of the Serra de Montes Altos mountain region in 1757.
The team wrote to colonial officials a week later that the cost and difficulty of saltpeter extraction in Bahia outweighed its worth.