Welcome to the opening matchup of Lent Madness 2022! If you’re joining us for the first time, we’re delighted you’re along for this wild, saintly ride. If you’re 
curious about what this all entails, check out the About Lent Madness tab on the website.
To experience the fullness of Lent Madness, the Supreme Executive Committee (the somewhat benevolent dictatorship that runs this whole enterprise) encourages you to do a couple things. First, like Lent Madness on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter. Second, subscribe to the Lent Madness e-mails so you never miss a vote — you’ll get each matchup hand-delivered to your inbox on the weekdays of Lent. You can do this by going to the home page of our website and entering your e-mail address.
But mostly, we encourage you to read about the 32 saints participating in this year’s edition of Lent Madness, faithfully cast your (single!) vote on the weekdays of Lent, and add your comments to the great cloud of participating witnesses that gathers as the online Lent Madness community each year. It's true that this is the only place on the internet where reading the comments is actually edifying.
If you’re wondering when your favorite saint will be competing – in order to rally your friends and neighbors (creative campaigning is encouraged, voter fraud is not) – you can check out the 2022 Matchup Calendar. And if you'd like to see all 32 saints (plus Tim and Scott) represented in peg doll form, check out this AMAZING video from our friends at St. James Cathedral in South Bend, Indiana.
Things kick off with a matchup that may just leave you humming a certain Christmas carol, as Stephen faces off against Wenceslaus. Friends, it's time to cast your very first vote of Lent Madness 2022! We’re glad you’re all here. Now get to it!
Stephen
Along with six other Greek-speaking believers, Stephen was selected to be a deacon in the Greek-speaking Christian community in Jerusalem, tasked with serving and providing for those in need. In some traditions, Stephen is identified as the eldest of these first deacons and given the title of archdeacon.
Set to the task of providing for the poor, Deacon Stephen also kept busy performing “wonders and signs” among the people. As is often the case, compassion was met with anger—as was his teaching and preaching—and Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin as a criminal.
Arguing for his life, Stephen could have chosen the easy path. Instead, he spoke truth to those who held power. He preached a sermon that accused his listeners of murdering the prophets who foretold the coming of Jesus. This went over like a lead balloon.
The authorities immediately took Stephen out and stoned him. Stephen became the protomartyr; the first follower of Jesus to give up their life for the sake of the gospel. And in his death, there resounded echoes of the death of Jesus as Stephen used his last breath to pray for the forgiveness of his killers.
In life, Stephen’s story is tied to Jerusalem, but in death, Stephen has been a world traveler. At various points in time, Stephen’s remains have rested in both Jerusalem and Rome. In Jerusalem, one of the major gates to the city still bears his name. In Rome, it is said that the remains of another deacon, Lawrence, miraculously moved to make room for the first archdeacon of the church.
Stephen’s feast day is December 26, the first commemoration to follow the day of the Nativity of our Lord, just as his death was the first to follow the crucifixion of our Lord.
Collect for Stephen
We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen
-- David Hansen
Wenceslaus
Most of us are familiar with Good King Wenceslaus who goes out on the snowy evening of December 26. But Saint Wenceslaus was not a king, nor did he likely venture out on the feast of Stephen in deep snow. He was, however, a deeply faithful Christian whose life set the standard for a godly ruler for centuries to come.
Wenceslaus was born in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) in the early 900s. His grandparents and his father, the Duke of Bohemia, were faithful Christians, but his mother, Dragomir, remained a staunch devotee of pagan faith. When Wenceslaus was 13, his father died. His Christian grandmother Ludmilla became regent and guardian of Wenceslas, but Wenceslaus’s mother murdered Ludmilla and took control of the government. She instituted harsh penalties against Christians in Bohemia and tried desperately to convert her son to the pagan ways. When Wenceslaus came of age, he banished his mother and took control of the government himself.
Wenceslaus took a vow of chastity and worked tirelessly to share the Christian faith with his subjects. As a leader, he preferred diplomacy to war. One legend holds that as his army faced a challenger, Wenceslaus sent an offer of peace. His opponent viewed the peace offering as a sign of weakness and prepared to attack. Wenceslaus offered to fight his opponent one-on-one to avoid massive casualties. As the two men walked toward each other, his opponent saw two angels guarding Wenceslaus. His opponent wisely chose Wenceslaus’s offer of peace.
Wenceslaus’s brother Boleslav was threatened by this modernization and Christianization of Bohemia. On September 28, 935, as Wenceslaus entered a church to attend mass, Boleslav murdered Wenceslaus by running him through with a lance. Almost immediately, Wenceslaus was venerated as a martyr. Reports of miracles occurring at his tomb led Boleslav to relocate the bones to St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. Wenceslaus was promoted to kingship posthumously by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. The Crown of Wenceslaus became the symbol for Czech independence. Within decades of his death, hagiographies, or biographies of saints, of Wenceslaus were popular and established the model for the righteous king, whose power is rooted in piety.
Collect for Wenceslaus
Almighty God, you gave to your servant Wenceslaus special gifts of grace to understand and teach the truth as it is in Christ Jesus: Grant that by this teaching we may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-- Laurie Brock
UPDATE: At about 10:30 EST, we removed just over 600 votes from Wenceslaus due to some cheating. Remember that we encourage you to vote once and once only. Voting too many times gets you banned from the Saintly Smackown.
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277 comments on “Stephen vs. Wenceslaus”
Oh my, this year promises to be difficult! Maybe that’s the real challenge for saints— and for us: making difficult choices…. Even in the face of opposition and obscurity? I fully intended to vote for Stephen (my beloved son’s name) whose saintly story is well-known. But Wenceslaus’s story deserves to be much better-known, especially now, as others have noted, when we need models such as his to inspire and comfort the world.
Yes! I think our beloved S.E.C. guys enjoy throwing us right into the fray with difficult decisions (I remember thinking the first match was difficult the last year or two as well)! No "easing" us into the madness!
And I, too, anticipated voting for Stephen but Wenceslaus got my vote (blowing my bracket already?!). I knew I didn't know much about him, but turns out I didn't even know what I thought I do! (Just another reason I love Lent Madness!)
Wenceslas is the saint who speaks to me in this horrible time of Russian invasion of Ukraine. His courage in the face of an opposing army is on point today. He gets my vote.
That's exactly where my head and heart went, too!
Ukrainian President Zelensky could use a couple of angels over his shoulders right now.
Team Wences-WON!
Shawn+
As always, the Lent Madness community shares thoughtfulness and humor, both signs of real grace -
I chose Stephen because he was the first martyr, and prayed for those who made him the first, but it was a pleasure to learn about
the good king when we so need just leaders - and when we are all so moved by the courage and spirit of the Ukranian people who are suffering from the war crimes of an unjust autocrat.
Mary Beth
I voted for St. Stephen. I have a son named Steven, but that did not persuade me to vote for St. Stephen. Both candidates did good things and it went back and forth. I chose St. Stephen at the end because he wasn't afraid to speak out for Christ even when it meant his death. He was so forgiving, just like Christ is.
Go Stephen! Deacons rock! [full disclosure - I'm a first year postulant toward the Diaconate] 🙂
in high school (the 60s) we loved st stephen as the first saint stoned to death
"Stephen was stoned" is right up there with "Jesus went and hid himself."
First big sigh of relief - my personal pre-Lenten Mardi Gras festivities came to a blissful end Tuesday with pancakes and a final parade in my hometown of Galveston, TX. Second big sigh of relief - Ash Wednesday services were in person again and deeply meaningful for me. Third big sigh of relief - my bracket picks are in and I've cast my first Lent Madness vote of the season. My life is good, thanks be to God and the SEC!
I echo many of the comments about these wise, brave men. Both deserve our time, our appreciation, and our wish to follow their example. Stephen has my vote today; Wenceslaus has my heart. Prayers for Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, and all places in our broken world where war and violence threatens the people of God.
I like the new look of the site. It's good to be back to the Madness - the only kind of madness I like in my mostly "blessedly boring" life.
I voted for Wenceslaus and his path to peace.
I see I'm not alone in voting for Stephen because of his deacon connection. At one point I investigated becoming a deacon, but looking at the time requirement and my age, I decided I might not make it.
My church is also St. Stephen's, and I do enjoying singing Good King Wenceslaus every first Sunday after Christmas, but Steven is the man.
Although I am signed up for the daily email, I have not received it yet. I went directly to the website and voted, but am wondering what time of day those updates get sent
Debra, I've manually added you to the mailing list. We did a migration from one service to another and there can be hiccups with such large migrations. Be on the lookout for the next email tomorrow morning around 8 am EST.
Thank you so much. I suspected as much.
My gmail account RECEIVED it at 8:05 EST. Not sure what time they are sent.
2022 Lent Madness is a challenge from the get go! I was going to vote for Wenceslaus but then re-read Stephen’s history and realized, where would be without his example as the first martyr? He spoke truth to power and we need more people like him in today’s world.
If it were not for Stephen, Saul wouldn't become Paul. The martyrdom of Stephen led to the spreading of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.
Oh yeah, you have to start us off with a really difficult one! Kudos to celebrity bloggers, who added a lot of information I was unaware of about these saints.
While I am drawn to deacon Stephen, I am voting for Wenceslaus since my step father was from Prague and his middle name was Wenceslaus.
I think this is the best bracket ever... except for the addition of a nonhuman.. that should create discussions for years to come. Stephen of course, I am a Deacon.
I anticipate that the day an archangel shows up in the bracket we will be "discoursing" vigorously all day. It's gonna be lit!
There is an archangel in the Bracket this year -- Archangel Gabriel vs. Sor Juana de la Cruz. I personally would not want to battle an Archangel.... but I certainly have a soft spot for the woman writer.
I agree with you about the bracket. At first, I was taken aback by the fact that I knew almost no one in the competition. But then when I started filling in my bracket and reading about the various saints, I was excited and happy to learn about these people and the wonderful things they had done. That seems to me to be the SEC's intentions of setting up the competition to begin with. Eventually, I decided to pick those new-to-me saints rather than trying to come up with the most correct bracket.
By the way, the Archangel Michael was a controversial contestant in an earlier bracket. He didn't get very far, as I remember.
Gabriel's not the first archangel to be nominated. Michael was on the 2018 bracket. He got to the second round, beating Anna the Prophet, but got knocked out by Esther. Esther in turn made it to the Final Four but was eliminated by Maria Skobstova, who was bested by Anna Alexander for the Golden Halo.
With the horror of war that is going on in Ukraine right now, I have to vote for King Wenceslaus because of his anti-war behavior.
I chose Wenceslaus because it is extremely difficult to stay true to one's faith. The fact that after his father died he stayed true despite all that his pagan mother did to try to deter him, swayed my vote.
My first time on this journey. A dear friend gave me the booklet and so.... maybe I'm hooked?
I had similar thoughts as the earlier poster.
I feel like there's something morally wrong about pitting St. Stephen against Wenceslaus. I'm mean, really. Head to head for the Golden Halo, no problem! That's fate. But to pair them in a bracket is just mean. This is a tough one, but my vote goes to Good King Wenceslaus. Props to the bloggers who wrote about these two fine Saints. I did not know the tradition about the battlefield angels!
I agree that this choice is just mean. Almost a cruel joke. I thought of abstaining, but I am thankful for the many great comments.
Peace.
I wonder if this choice would have been so poignant if the war for Ukraine were not at the forefront of all of our thoughts.
Still, not fair somehow, but whoever said lent was fair and relaxing? (Lol)
For all the folks in New Prague, Minnesota who celebrate mass at St. Wenceslaus Church, and all who live in countries that were a part of the former Soviet Union, how could I not cast my vote for St. Wenceslaus?
Peace, peace, give us peace!
It has always troubled me that much of Christianity's growth came from converted monarchs imposing their faith on the people. So, while I respect Wenceslaus' piety and that he led by example, I would rather support an early deacon of the church whose influence stood on faith alone. Stephen for the win.
I never thought so deeply as today of spreading Christianity in those terms but your words ring true to me.
I understand the need for leaders that are willing to fight but lobby for peace at this time in our history, yet I feel the pull of Stephen and his ministry.
Thank you, Craig.
What a start to Lent Madness! Such a tough choice. I voted for Stephen, who spoke to truth to power and paid dearly. Yet Wenceslaus is also to be honored as a leader whose "power" is to rule righteously through piety. May the leaders of our day follow such an example.
Such a great comment! I voted for Stephen as well but it wasn't because I was against Wescenlaus.
Absolutely. Me too. A vote for Stephen is not a vote against Wenceslaus.
I love this pair up!!! I am, once again, excited that it is time for Lent Madness - yayayayay! I have been following you since the beginning. I voted for St. Stephen because Stephen was my father's name and also, my father passed on St. Stephen's Day!! Go Steve!!!
Peace is uppermost in my mind, and so Wenceslaus it is. It seems particularly poignant that his story starts our season as we experience the tragedy of Ukraine unfold. Also, I love the carol.
Had to go with Stephen -- my husband's last parish was St. Stephen's in Whiting, NJ. What? We can't have purely secular reasons for our votes? LOL OK, then, he was a brave lad.
This was a toughy. My final vote was for Wenceslaus. He faced many difficulties through his life but never waivered and in the end did much to further the spread of Christianity.
I was assuming I’d go for Stephen but like you I was deeply moved by Wenceslas. He had opportunities to take the easy way out but he stayed true to his faith. A great example for us, especially as we begin Lent.
I've never heard of St Wenceslaus. I kept thinking about how leadership like that is so lacking right now which influenced my vote. But a really difficult choice for sure.