Nuno da Cunha was born in the parish of São José in Lisbon, the son of Luís da Cunha e Ataíde, 9th Lord of Povolide, and his wife D. Guiomar de Lencastre. His eldest brother, Tristão da Cunha Ataíde would later be created :pt:Conde de Povolide|1st Count of Povolide. He studied at the University of Coimbra, first Theology, but then switched to Canon Law, in which he earned his degree. He was first a canon of the Diocese of Coimbra, but soon afterwards started his career within the Inquisition, first in Coimbra and then in Lisbon. King Peter II appointed Nuno da Cunha as his chaplain of honour and, in 1702, made him a member of the Council of the Three Estates. In 1705 he was made the King's chief chaplain and was nominated Bishop of Elvas, but refused this latter appointment: he was instead consecrated Titular Bishop of Targa the following year. After the death of Peter II and the accession of his son King John V, he was offered several more positions of political importance at Court. In 1707, he was made Inquisitor-General of Portugal and, in 1712, Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Anastasia al Palatino. , Rome Following the death of Pope Clement XI in 1721, he was summoned to that year's papal conclave. He departed Lisbon on 9 May aboard a Portuguese carrack; arriving at the port of Leorne on 19 May, he received news that Cardinal Michelangelo dei Conti had already been elected pope, as Innocent XIII. He was subsequently received in Rome with "special demonstrations of paternal benevolence" by the new Pontiff. During his time in Rome, Cardinal da Cunha was occupied in several assignments with the Congregations for Bishops, for Regulars, for the Propagation of the Faith, for Rites, and for Consistorial Provisions. Also during this time, he sponsored major works at great personal expense on his titular church of Sant'Anastasia al Palatino. He only arrived back in Portugal on October 1722, having travelled by land and stopping on places of pilgrimage along the way. In Ancona, he made two precious offerings to Our Lady of Loreto. On 3 June 1722, a rare private ostension of the Shroud of Turin was held for Cardinal da Cunha at the Chapel of the Holy Shroud. After his death, according to the official gazette, Cardinal da Cunha's body was dissected and embalmed by two surgeons using a new technique: the procedure took seven and a half hours. He was interred, following his own instructions, in the Chapter House of the Monastery of Saint Dominic in Lisbon, under a plain ledger stone.
