English

Noun

nunciature ‎(plural nunciatures)

1. The status or rank of a nuncio.
   • 1980, Felix Casalmo, The Vision of a New Society

     Does their role include the bringing of the message of Christ in the political life of the country to which they are ambassadors? A clarification of the role of nunciature is necessary to maintain this "appropriate communication."

2. The building and staff of a nuncio; the equivalent of an embassy for the Holy See.
   • 2013, David Alvarez, Revd Robert A., SJ Graham, Nothing Sacred: Nazi Espionage Against the Vatican, 1939-1945, Routledge (ISBN 9781135217143), page 164

     During the first winter of the war, a junior officer in the nunciature to Italy was summoned to the foreign ministry by the chef de cabinet of Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano to review some matter of ecclesiastical property.

3. The term of service of a nuncio.
   • 2002, Philippe Levillain, The Papacy: Gaius-Proxies, Psychology Press (ISBN 9780415922302), page 1201

     The Warsaw nuncio was content to preach a spirit of peace, and was severely taken to task by the Polish press during the summer of 1920. This cast something of a shadow over the final period of his nunciature.

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