The history of the church is that of the Adelhausen monastery. By 1786, the five medieval Freiburg Dominican convents had been incorporated into it, namely:
the Annunciation Monastery, founded in 1234 in the old village of Adelhausen in today's Wiehre district;
the Maria Magdalena Monastery or Monastery of the Penitents, founded before 1250 in the Preacher's suburb;
the St. Agnes Monastery, founded in 1264 in the Lehener suburb;
the St. Catherine (of Alexandria) Monastery, founded in 1297 in the old village of Wiehre, like Adelhausen in today's Wiehre district; and
the St. Catherine of Siena Monastery or St. Catharina of Senis on the Graben, founded in 1419 like the Maria Magdalena Monastery in the Preacher's suburb. By 1687, the Annunciation of Mary, Mary Magdalene, St. Agnes and St. Catherine (of Alexandria) had united to form a convent "ad Annuntiationem B.M.V. et S. Catharina V.M.",[2] to the Annunciation of Mary, the Virgin and Mother of God, and St. Catharina, later simply called Adelhausen Monastery or Adelhausen New Monastery. The existing monastery building was built for it from 1687 onwards in the Schneckenvorstadt or Oberen Gerberau, in today's Altstadt-Ring district.