The end (of Lent Madness 2025) is near! It's hard to believe we kicked things off over five weeks ago on “Ash Thursday” with 32 saintly souls. With your help, the field has been whittled down to just two: Zechariah and Nicolaus Zinzendorf. Perhaps it’s fitting in a year that saw us go A to Z with our saints that, in the end, we end up with two Zs. Who will receive the coveted 2025 Golden Halo? That, friends, is up to you.
Regardless of the ultimate outcome, we’ve met some truly remarkable holy people along the way. Perhaps you learned about some folks you’d never heard of before or maybe you renewed acquaintances with saints who have long offered inspiration. Of course the entire notion of placing saints in a bracket is absurd — each “contestant” has already earned a crown of righteousness in addition to a “golden halo.” But at the heart of Lent Madness is the abiding conviction that encountering those who have come before us in the faith enriches and enlivens our own walk with the risen Christ.
This year saw the rise of some new and engaging faces carrying the penitential torch, as Fr. Christian Anderson and Fr. Michael Sahdev, brought some renewed excitement and Beverly Hills-style production values to the team.
Tim and Scott were especially pleased by this development, as the Supreme Executive Committee hopes to see a new generation joining the Lent Madness stalwarts in the years ahead.
2024 Golden Halo Winner Julian of Norwich prepares to hand off her crown!
Of course we literally couldn’t have done this without our amazing Celebrity Bloggers to whom we offer sincere gratitude: Laurie Brock, Megan Castellan, David Creech, Neva Rae Fox, Becca Kello, Emily McFarlan Miller, Kathyrn Nishibayashi, David Sibley, and Ellen Singer. The writing was especially stellar this year, and it was great to add three new CBs to the Lent Madness Team! (Becca, Kathryn, Ellen). Thanks to Bracket Czar Adam Thomas for his stellar behind-the-scenes work in keeping the bracket updated daily. You all rock!
And a special shout-out to veteran Celebrity Bloggers Neva Rae Fox and David Creech for shepherding Nicolaus and Zechariah to the championship round with such grace and care.
The Forward Movement folks are fantastic and invaluable in helping to make Lent Madness happen every year. In particular, we’re grateful to Jason Merritt, Margaret Ellsworth, and Ami Hooper. Ashley Graham-Wilcox is a superstar, helping us to set up the website with the daily write-ups, images, and polls.
Finally, thanks to all of you who participated by voting, commenting, drinking coffee out of Lent Madness mugs, filling out brackets, talking about saints with friends, liking us on Facebook and our new and fabulous Instagram page, and allowing us to play a small role in your Lenten journey. We’ve loved having each one of you along for the “madness” and on behalf of the Supreme Executive Committee we wish you a blessed Holy Week and a joyous Easter.
Don't forget to join us TODAY for a very special Facebook Live Golden Halo Party at 1:00 pm EST.
The polls will be open for 24 hours and the winner will be announced at 8:00 am Eastern time on Maundy Thursday. Now go cast your vote — the 2025 Lent Madness Golden Halo hangs in the balance!
Nicolaus Zinzendorf
Thou God of power, Thou God of love/Let all Thy saints Thy mercy prove;/Our beauty this, our glorious dress,/Jesus the Lord, our Righteousness. (From Zinzendorf’s hymn “God’s Christ, who is my righteousness.”)
Zechariah
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel
he has come to his people and set them free.In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
43 comments on “For the Golden Halo: Nicolaus Zinzendorf vs. Zechariah”
Zechariah’s blessing is so needed now in 2025, for “those who dwell in darkness” (and for those who bring darkness to others). Please help us all to guide our feet to peace, but especially an exhortation to despotic rulers who have lost their humility, compassion and empathy. Go Zechariah for the Golden Halo!
Some members of our congregation (Good Shepherd Episcopal, Tomball, Texas) have a Lent Madness Challenge every year. Each person picks the saints he/she thinks will make it to the Faithful Four and which one of those will get the Golden Halo. Picks are turned in by Ash Wednesday. The winners usually get Golden Halo mugs or something acknowledging their excellent discernment of what makes a good saint (or of their good luck). Nobody chose Nicholaus Zinzendorf to even make it to the Faithful Four this year. If he wins, it'll be a true upset for us. As of Wednesday afternoon, six of our participants are still in the chase and hoping that Zechariah bests Zinzendorf.
Thanks to all the bloggers for their write ups this Lenten season, the competition was tough. Many great saints to learn about. Thanks to all who worked on putting Lent Madness together. Special thanks to Neva Rae Fox and David Creech for their blogs, you make the choice hard. Nicholas Zinzendorf was one I selected early on and made it this far, so Nicholas Zinzendorf for the Golden Halo!
Gents,
I believe Jonathan Daniel’s won the golden halo last year and not Julian of Norwich.
Holly, how quickly the years go! Julian won in 2024. Jonathan Daniels won in 2023.
I have a spreadsheet with all the nominees by year, color coded to show how far the person got. It's impressive and puzzling to see how a nominee may not have made it past the first round in one year and then gone all the way a decade later. And some of the "how's that again?" upsets, like Frances Perkins. (2013. The year Martin Luther didn't make it into the Saintly Sixteen!) Absalom Jones was also in the brackets that year, didn't get out of the first round, then received his Golden Halo in 2021. Go figure.
And for the record: per the published rules, nobody in this year's lineup is eligible next year.
Grateful this Lent to have learned about many extraordinary people through Lent Madness. The faith and witness of Rev Hiram Kano who was arrested after saying Mass at a Nebraska church and then interned for two years by the US government will be the saint who most stays with me from this year.
Sadly, today’s final choices do not resonate with me in terms of the current moment.
I am thankful for this Lenten discipline.
In the end I voted for Zinzendorf.
I reflected at how the two final Saints have such opposite components in their legends.
Zachariah was struck dumb and was made to just be quiet during the gestation of the future John the Baptist.
Zinzendorf was one prolific hymn writer and that music echoes on and on.
The music made me do it. He wrote some real bangers!
I echo gm's thoughts. grateful to those whose create this but really hoped a,social justice warrior would win. Will be fervently praying for those deported from our country and that our country be turned back from evil
Had a feeling that it'd be a battle of the Zzzzzs!
Zechariah is deserving of the Golden Halo. His beautiful Benedictus is appealing . We are encouraged by
his good example as a great witness
of our Lord and Savior.
Zechariah is deserving of the Golden Halo. His beautiful Benedictus is appealing . We are encouraged by
his good example as a great witness
of our Lord and Savior.
This is my only comment .
This is a good place to include/reiterate the winner & runner-up bios, or at least provide a hotlink to them.
Interestingly, not every pair arrives in my email inbox.
Many years ago, at the age of 25, I had the final words of the Song of Zechariah (“In the tender compassion of our God ….”) carved on my parents’ gravestone, which will also be mine someday, and my siblings’. It was my cry of hope in the midst of deep grief, and the words are now carved on my heart in these terrible times.