The Jesuits were expelled from Malta in 1768, and although their property was taken over by the Treasury of the Order of St. John, the college remained open and professors retained their posts. The University of Malta officially came to existence on 22 November 1769, when Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca signed a decree constituting a "Pubblica Università di Studi Generali". The University was briefly suspended during the magistracy of Francisco Ximenes de Texada in the 1770s, but it was reconstituted by his successor Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc in 1779.