postulancy

American  

[pos-chuh-luhn-see] / ˈpɒs tʃə lən si /

Sometimes postulance

noun

plural

postulancies

1. the period or state of being a postulant, especially in a religious order.

---

Etymology

Origin of postulancy

First recorded in 1880–85; postul(ant) + -ancy

Example Sentences

He spoke of the Church's prudence in this as in all else, and of the courses enjoined by her to enable a sound judgment to be made as to the reality of such exceptional vocation; and so of postulancy, novitiate, and profession.

From Project Gutenberg

"During my postulancy," she said, "it cost me a great deal to perform certain exterior penances, customary in our convents, but I never yielded to these repugnances; it seemed to me that the image of my Crucified Lord looked at me with beseeching eyes, and begged these sacrifices."

From Project Gutenberg

And she spoke of Evelyn's postulancy; of how long it had lasted.

From Project Gutenberg

"But when I went to Rome my postulancy—" "Even so, you have been a postulant for over a year; and, should you discover that you have no vocation, the fact of having been a novice, of having worn the white veil, will be a protection to you ever afterwards, should you return to the world."

From Project Gutenberg