Community Foundation 1979 (≈ 1979)
Created by Mother Elizabeth and three companions.
1987
Procurement of land
Procurement of land 1987 (≈ 1987)
Start of the work of the monastery.
1989
Canon recognition
Canon recognition 1989 (≈ 1989)
Via the "Motu proprio" "Ecclesia Dei".
1992
Erection in abbey
Erection in abbey 1992 (≈ 1992)
Official status obtained.
2000
Election of Mother Placid
Election of Mother Placid 2000 (≈ 2000)
New designated abbess.
2005
Completion of the abbey
Completion of the abbey 2005 (≈ 2005)
Consecration of the main building.
juillet 2010
Win in Decca competition
Win in Decca competition juillet 2010 (≈ 2010)
Recording contract for their singing.
8 novembre 2010
Release of the album *In Paradisum*
Release of the album *In Paradisum* 8 novembre 2010 (≈ 2010)
International dissemination of their music.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Mère Élisabeth de La Londe - Founder and first superior
Initiator of the community in 1979.
Mère Placide - Abbess elected in 2000
Director after foundation.
Origin and history
The Notre-Dame-de-l'Annunciation du Barroux Abbey is a Benedictine foundation of the 20th century, born in 1979 under the leadership of Mother Elizabeth de La Londe and three other young women. Located near Sainte-Madeleine Abbey, they dedicate their community to the Virgin of the Annunciation. After the acquisition of a plot of land in 1987, the nuns began the construction of a new monastery, partially completed thanks to their canonical recognition in 1989 via the Motu proprio "Ecclesia Dei". The abbey was officially erected in 1992.
In 2000, Mother Placid became abbess, marking a new stage for the community. The Abbey, dedicated to Notre-Dame-de-l'Annunciation, was completed in 2005. The abbey won an international reputation in 2010 when its nuns won a Gregorian singing contest organized by Decca Records, among 70 world convents. Their album, In Paradisum (or Voices - Chant from Avignon), released on November 8, 2010, broadcasting their sacred art far beyond Provence.
Today, the abbey has about thirty nuns, perpetuating the Benedictine tradition in the Vaucluse. Their lives, rhythmic by prayer and work, are part of the continuity of medieval monastic foundations, while integrating contemporary achievements as well as musical recordings. The monastery remains a place of active spirituality, open to the world via media such as YouTube or discographic partnerships.
