ANGELUS, a Roman Catholic devotion in memory of the Annunciation. It consists of three texts (beginning "Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae," hence the name), with three Ave Marias and a concluding versicle, response and prayer. It is re cited three times daily, about 6 A.M., noon and 6 P.M., when the Angelus bell is rung. In a simpler form the devotion can be traced back (as an evening observance) to 1307.
See H. Thurston in The Catholic Encyclopaedia.