This work aims to gain a better understanding of the Convent of Ajuda, in institutional and social terms, of the women who entered the monastery as nuns between 1750 and 1808. The aim is to demonstrate the process of founding convents and retreats in Portuguese America, analysing the ecclesiastical relations between the nuns of this convent and the diocesan bishop of Rio de Janeiro. We will also try to understand the extent to which the social behaviour of the nuns within the cloisters conformed to the norms prescribed in the statutes of the Convento da Ajuda.