Following the heady days of Nominationtide, and the submission of hundreds of saintly nominations from the Lent Madness faithful, the Supreme Executive Committee is pleased to release the highly anticipated 2022 Lent Madness bracket. Following their Spring Retreat, held in a socially-distanced, secure, undisclosed Zoom room, amid the consumption of massive amounts of single origin black coffee, Tim and Scott whittled the field to 32 saints, who will compete for the coveted Golden Halo.

This year's bracket is broken up into four themed quadrants -- Martyrs & Mystics, Theologians & Thinkers, Healers & Helpers, and the ever popular Confusion Corner, which debuted last year. While you may have many favorites among the contestants, there does not appear to be a runaway favorite in this year's contest. Which means it's anybody's bracket to win! Well, you have to be in the bracket. And dead. And a saint...

But enough of this yakking. Let’s get to the 2022 bracket!

As a reminder, or if you're new to this wacky online devotion, you can learn how it all works by clicking here.

Unlike professional and collegiate sporting events, there is no admission cost for Lent Madness, but souvenirs and study aids are available in the Lentorium. Or they will be -- we'll keep you posted -- as even the Supreme Executive Committee is not immune to supply chain issues. This will include The Saintly Scorecard: The Official Guide to Lent Madness 2022 (order as single copies or in discounted 10-packs) and giant Bracket Posters. All of which are AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW! And will ship in January.

The good news is, Scorecards and Posters (did we mention you can pre-order now? Seriously, they always sell out) will be ready in plenty of time for Lent. And if you're marking your calendar, Lent Madness begins on Ash Thursday, March 3.

We're pleased to welcome eleven “celebrity bloggers” from across the country to write for Lent Madness 2022: the Rev. Amber Belldene of San Francisco, CA; the Rev. Laurie Brock of Lexington, KY; Anna Fitch Courie of Columbia, SC; Dr. David Creech of Moorhead, MN; the Rev. Megan Castellan of Ithaca, NY; Neva Rae Fox of Somerville, NJ; the Rev. David Hansen of Woodlands, TX; Emily McFarlan Miller of Chicago, IL; Miriam McKenney of Cincinnati, OH; the Rev. David Sibley of Walla Walla, WA, and the Rev. Eva Suarez of New York, NY. Information about each of the celebrity bloggers and the rest of the team is available on the Lent Madness website.

In the meantime, start choosing your favorite saints and...Happy Lent!