Last week, the Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness announced that we would be giving away three free mugs featuring 2013 Golden Halo winner Frances Perkins. These are precious collectors' items, and it's possible the winners will sell their mugs for a golden fortune. To enter, people were invited to like and share a post on the Forward Movement Facebook page, and the winner was chosen randomly.

We are pleased to announce that the three winners are Christine Mills, Michelle Crull, and Susan D. Amussen! Soon they'll be enjoying their coffee (which some have called "satan's drink") or tea out of rare, union-made  mugs.

Speaking of collectors' items, if you want to get an early start on expanding your own collection, it's not too early to pre-order your 2019 Golden Halo winner Lent Madness mug. It will feature the winner of this season's epic competition, the tenth anniversary year and first-ever all-woman Faithful Four. Be the envy of your friends as you enjoy your favorite warm beverage later this spring or early summer, when the all-new mug ships. It will feature Martha, Pandita, or Zenaida.

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Who will face Martha of Bethany for the Golden Halo? That's the question for today after Martha stung Gobnait 51% to 49% despite a late swarm (and a whiff of overzealous Gobnait supporters) to reach the Lent Madness Championship round.

To get to this point, Zenaida took down Apollonia, Nicholas of Myra, and John Chrysostom, while Pandita defeated Damien of Molokai, Marguerite d'Youville, and William Wilberforce. Whoever wins, the Golden Halo will be decided on Spy Wednesday, with the results announced at 8:00 am Eastern Time on Maundy Thursday. The end is near!

SEC Reminder: We know people get swept up in the fervor of Lent Madness, and sometimes they get so excited they want to vote a few times. Yesterday, we observed quite a few cases of people voting for one saint several times, often 20 or more times. When we catch these, we ban those IP addresses and, assuming we can ascertain with confidence the number of votes, we reverse the votes. Our goal is to make Lent Madness fair and fun for everyone, one person making one vote. We use a combination of manual and automated systems to watch this and yesterday, to try to get these as early as possible, we set our triggers pretty low. So if you find yourself banned, do let us know. And make sure you’re only voting one time per contest! Big Lent is watching...

Oh, and if for some crazy set of circumstances, you missed yesterday's final in-season episode of Monday Madness featuring our first-ever in studio guest, make sure to catch it here.

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SEC Note: We recorded this week's episode of Monday Madness this morning, before we knew about the devastating fire at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Our prayers are with Paris, especially emergency responders, and all those in harm's way.

This week's Monday Madness featured our very first-ever on-air guest, the social media powerhouse George T. Dog (follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!), named after George Herbert, the very first Golden Halo winner in 2010.

In other news, Lent Madness 2019 continues to make penitential history as the first-ever all-female Faithful Four is under way today and tomorrow. Tim and Scott preview the battles and also share how the final championship match will go down on Spy Wednesday. As of Thursday morning at 8 a.m. Eastern time, this year's Lent Madness will be in the books. And by "books" we mean the annals of Lenten history. We can't predict the winner, but we can be sure that this year's champion will even out the gender line-up of Golden Halo winners, with five men and five women having taken the crown.

Remember to cast your vote (one per person!) and tell your friends to do the same. Later on, in Eastertide, the SEC will open Nominationtide, during which the Lent Madness faithful may nominate saints for the 2020 bracket. Lent Madness never sleeps.

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Welcome to the Faithful Four! Over the past few weeks we have whittled down the field from 32 saintly souls to a holy four: Martha of Bethany, Gobnait, Zenaida, and Pandita Ramabai. The spiritual nets have been cut down and one of these four will, in a few short days, be awarded the coveted 2019 Golden Halo.

This marks the first time in Lent Madness history that we have an all-female Faithful Four. This means that at the end of this 10th year of Lent Madness, we will have crowned five male winners and five female winners.

Today it's Martha of Bethany vs. Gobnait. To make it this deep into our little tournament, Martha got past Mary of Bethany, Nicodemus, and Photini, while Gobnait defeated Hrotsvitha, Paula of Rome, and Ignatius of Loyola.

Tomorrow Zenaida will tangle with Pandita Ramabai and then our respective Faithful Four winners will vie for the 2019 Golden Halo on Spy Wednesday, with the winner being crowned at 8:00 am on Maundy Thursday.

Throughout Lent Madness, our saintly heroes have battled via basic bios, quirks and quotes, and event kitsch. In this round, we let our remaining Celebrity Bloggers loose as they answer the question “Why should Saint XX win the Golden Halo?” In other words, they’ve been charged with letting us know why their particular saint is so awesome. We have also invited them to share their two favorite images of their saints. Away we go!

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Yesterday in a hotly contested matchup for the third spot in the Faithful Four, Gobnait stung Ignatius of Loyola 51% to 49%. She joins Martha of Bethany and Pandita Ramabai in the rarified air of Lent Madness 2019.

Who will make the Faithful Four the quartet to which it's called? We'll find out in the next 24 hours as John Chrysostom faces off against Zenaida for the final spot. To make it this far, John defeated Margaret of Cortona and Marina the Monk, while Zenaida took down Apollonia and Nicholas of Myra.

Then take a deep cleansing breath and get ready for the last three battles of Lent Madness 2019. On Monday and Tuesday it’s the Faithful Four. And then on Spy Wednesday the scene will be set as we collectively crown the Golden Halo winner. The end is near!

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Yesterday, in a hotly contested matchup, Pandita Ramabai made it past William Wilberforce 55% to 45% to claim the second spot in the Faithful Four. She joins Martha of Bethany and awaits two more companions as we move ever closer to awarding the coveted 2019 Golden Halo.

On tap today we have Ignatius of Loyola vs. Gobnait. To get to this point, Ignatius made it past Tikhon of Zadonsk and Marina the Monk, while Gobnait defeated and Hrotsvitha and Paula of Rome.

Also, in a move of largesse reminiscent of the recently defeated Nichols of Myra, the Supreme Executive Committee has devised a method for giving away (yes, for free!) the last three remaining France Perkins Golden Halo mugs. Rather than donating them to the Lent Museum, they will be given away at random to three lucky winners. Click here for details. And if you gave up Facebook for Lent or for Zuckerberg, add not being eligible to your list of crosses to bear. Alas, it's Lent.

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As the Lent Madness global public knows, the Supreme Executive Committee is very concerned about the health and well-being of fans around the globe. In the next few days, a lot happens. Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, is coming right up. People in the US are facing down an April 15 deadline for tax filing. And your allergies might be going crazy with spring.

That's why we are giving away THREE mugs. You can use these for coffee or any other warm beverage, especially coffee (have we mentioned recently that the SEC is fueled by single-origin, fairly traded black coffee?). Rumor has it these mugs work equally well with tea, though scones are sold separately. We have three Frances Perkins mugs available.

As you'll remember, Frances Perkins won the Golden Halo in 2013. She was a lay leader in the Episcopal Church and also served as Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, the first woman to serve in the US Cabinet. These are literally the last three Frances Perkins Golden Halo mugs in existence and are major collector's items in the world of Lent Madness tchotchkes.

Here's how you can win your free mug. Head over to the Facebook page of our sponsor, Forward Movement. In addition to the Lent Madness Facebook page, we hope you like the Forward Movement Facebook page. Anyway, once you get there, you'll see a post from today (April 10) inviting you to like and share the post, along with a comment, story, or photo about your favorite saint. Do what that post says. Remember, like and share the Facebook post from the Forward Movement Facebook page to enter to win.

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Yesterday, on the first day of the Elate Eight, Martha of Bethany left Photini high and dry 58% to 42% to become the first saint to reach the elusive and exclusive Faithful Four.

Today William Wilberforce meets Pandita Ramabai. To reach the Elate Eight, Wilberforce bested Agatha Lin Zhao and Richard Allen, while Ramabai defeated Damien of Molokai and Marguerite d'Youville. For all the previous rounds' highlights, click the Bracket tab.

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Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. No, Virginia, Santa Claus will not be advancing in Lent Madness 2019. That's because yesterday, in a shocking upset that rocked the North Pole, Zenaida defeated Nicholas of Myra 59% to 41% to claim the final spot in the Elate Eight. (Also, Virginia, congratulations on winning yesterday's national championship in that other brackets-based tournament).

We started with 32 saints and 3/4 of them have been cast out, hanging their halos in shame. Okay, that's not how it works - we're pretty sure the saints themselves don't actually care about our little Lenten game of learning. And each and every one of them has already received their own crown of righteousness. Nonetheless, welcome to the Elate Eight.

Who remains? Well, Zenaida joins Martha of Bethany, Photini, Ignatius of Loyola, Gobnait, John Chrysostom, William Wilberforce, and Pandita Ramabai. One of these remaining eight will be awarded the coveted 2019 Golden Halo.

Things kick off with two Biblical heavyweights as Martha of Bethany takes on Photini. To make it to this point, Martha defeated Mary of Bethany and Nicodemus, while Photini took down Ananias and Tabitha. Don’t forget to click the Bracket tab and scroll down to be reminded of what was written about these two in the earlier rounds.

The Elate Eight is also known as the Round of Saintly Kitsch. After basic biographies, quirks and quotes, what else could there be? Now, there are always some folks who take offense to this approach — we call them Kitsch Kranks. Please remember that this round is not meant to belittle or demean our saintly heroes but to have some fun and gaze in wide wonder at the breadth of devotional practice. So kindly relax and enjoy the spirit of the Madness as we push ever onward toward our goal.

For more about all things Lent Madness, tune in to yesterday's edition of Monday Madness, if for some unknown reason you missed it. This week, among other things, Tim and Scott share the First and Great Commandments of Lent Madness.

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As the giant purple Lenten clock ticks down to the start of the Elate Eight -- aka the Round of Saintly Kitsch -- Tim and Scott share their annual warning about Kitsch Kranks, the people who just can't get on board with this level of fun and frivolity.

In this week's episode of Monday Madness, you'll get a reminder of the First and Second Great Commandments of Lent Madness, but also the reminder that if you want the facts about saints, you can always revisit the basic biographies of the first round or the quirks and quotes of the Saintly Sixteen by clicking the Bracket Tab.

The SEC also celebrates the naming of St. Anna's Episcopal Church, a new church born out of the merger of two congregations. Inspired by the 2018 Golden Halo winner, Anna Alexander, they chose the name St. Anna's. We shared this story in a special post.

Also, if you want to hear the rare instance where Scott accidentally called Tim a "friend", tune into Scott's interview with Sandra T. Montes on her Lenten podcast. He also talks about Lent, "go big or go home" liturgy, and his journey into the Episcopal Church. If you need to cleanse your palate after listening, you can read Tim's new book while you sip some coffee.

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