Operations began in 1775 in the College of Saints Peter and Paul and where the current main office is now. In 1818, Don Viceroy Apodaca ordered the evacuation of the building due to problems with the Independence movement but this did not happen until 1821, when King Ferdinand VII confiscated Jesuit properties. The foundation moved to the Franciscan Convent of Saint Bridget that was on Juárez Avenue and San Juan de Letrán Street (now Eje Central). It moved again in 1836 to two houses on Empedradillo Street off a difference section of the Zocalo that were owned by the Duke of Monteleone, a descendant of Hernan Cortés. Some time after the College of Saints Peter and Paul moved to what is now the Colegio de San Ildefonso, the Monte de Piedad bought the old college structure and its original home from the Duke of Monteleone in 1836.