ANNUNZIATA, (ANNUNCIADE), ORDER of. — This is the common name for the Order of contemplative religious women founded at Bourges by Blessed Giovanna di Francia (G. di Valois, 1464–1505), daughter of Luigi XI, king of France, and Carlotta di Savoia, with the cooperation of Fr. Gabriele Maria (Gilbert Nicolas, 1462–1532). The first rule, the only one known to the foundress, approved by Alessandro VI on 12 February 1502, was clearly inspired by the type of the double monasteries of the Order of Fontevrault, and established as its program of life the imitation of the “ten joys and virtues” of the Virgin. The second rule (22 May 1515) and the third (29 August 1517) abandoned the principle of double monasteries, but continued the program of imitating the virtues of the Virgin. The official title “Order of the Virgin Mary” adopted by them never supplanted the common designation: “Order of the Annunciation.” The sisters are still known today under the name “Annunziate.” They are also called “Red Annunziate,” to distinguish them from the “Blue or Turquoise Annunziate,” founded in Genoa by Vittoria Fornari in 1634. At the death of the foundress (5 February 1505), the Order had only the monastery of Bourges; it numbered nine at the death of the co-founder, Fr. Gabriele (1532), and about fifty at the beginning of the French Revolution.
Founded in France by a daughter of the king of France, the Order spread only in that country and in the neighboring regions of Belgium, the Netherlands, the Rhineland, and Westphalia. The Revolution dispersed all the communities, with the exception of that of Tirlemont, which, although changing residence several times, was able to survive. Of the other monasteries, only two were reopened: that of Villeneuve-sur-Lot in 1816, and that of Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1818 (the latter was transferred to St. Margaret's Bay, England, in 1903). Other foundations were subsequently established at Geel and Merksem, Belgium, in 1853 and 1883, and at Thiais in 1925. The Order of the Annunciation is composed of autonomous monasteries. At first, the houses were under the jurisdiction of the major superiors of the Order of Friars Minor, but in the seventeenth century many obtained permission to pass under the authority of the diocesan bishops. This perhaps explains the halting of its expansion. In fact, from 1657 until the Revolution there were no new foundations, whereas there had been 34 between 1600 and 1657. The constitutions approved in 1932 place all the monasteries under the jurisdiction of the bishops, while leaving the Friars Minor the canonical visitation on behalf of the bishop.