Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Latin: Ordo de Annuntiatione Beatæ Mariæ Virginis), also known as Sisters of the Annunciation or Annonciades, is an enclosed religious order of contemplative nuns founded in honor of the Annunciation in 1501 at Bourges, France by Joan de Valois, also known as Joan of France, daughter of King Louis XI, and first wife (annulled) of King Louis XII. == History == === Origins === After Joan of Valois husband Louis XII gained the throne of France in 1498, he obtained an annulment of their marriage from the Holy See, on the basis of their having been forced into the marriage by Joan's father Louis XI. After being freed from her marriage, Joan retired to Bourges, where in 1501 she succeeded in founding a monastery in honor of the Annunciation of the Angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Rule of Life she wrote for her community is entitled The Ten Virtues of the Blessed Virgin, the imitation of which she proposed as the aim of the order.

Source: Wikipedia — Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (CC BY-SA 4.0)