. The order was founded in 1484 in
Toledo,
Spain, by
Saint Beatrice of Silva, a noblewoman of
Portugal and sister of the Franciscan friar,
Blessed Amadeus. On the marriage of Princess
Isabel of Portugal with King
John II of Castile, Beatrice had accompanied the future Queen, her cousin, to the court of her new husband. After the marriage, however, her great beauty aroused the jealousy of the queen, for which she was imprisoned. During that time of incarceration, Beatrice experienced an
apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, telling her that she wanted Beatrice to found a new Order in her honor. Beatrice escaped with difficulty and took refuge in the
Dominican convent at Toledo. There, for thirty-seven years, she led a life of holiness, however without becoming a member of that order. In 1484, Beatrice, with some companions, took possession of a
convent in Toledo set apart for them by
Isabella I of Castile. bound themselves to the daily recitation of the
Divine Office, and they were placed under obedience to the
ordinary of the
diocese. but in 1511
Julius II gave it a rule of its own and put them under the protection of General Minister of Friars Minor, for this reason the nuns were called Franciscan Conceptionists. Special
constitutions were drawn up for the Order in 1516 by Cardinal
Francisco de Quiñones. It was the foundress,
Beatrice of Silva, who chose the white
habit, with a white
scapular and blue mantle. A second convent was founded in 1507 at Torrigo, from which, in turn, were established seven others. The order soon spread through
Portugal,
Spain,
Italy,
France; Spain's colony of
New Spain (Mexico), starting in 1540 and as well as in Portugal's colony of
Brazil. (That community, however, later separated to become a
religious congregation of missionary sisters of the
Third Order of St. Francis.). At its height there were some 2,000 convents of the order throughout the world. The foundress, Beatrice of Silva, was
canonized by
Pope Paul VI in 1976. ==Vatican II==