Mr. Pollini's father was a noted architect, and some observers have linked his vocation with the pianist's much-lauded grasp of musical structure.

WSJ: Maurizio Pollini: Not as Others See Him | Cultural Conversation by David Mermelstein

The decline of the female religious orders has left many women feeling that they no longer have a central vocation in a church that has always revered femininity in the form of the Virgin Mary.

WSJ: Daniel Johnson: A New Pope on a Pilgrim's Path

We have reaffirmed our democratic vocation.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama and President Lobo of Honduras