After a weekend in which people around the globe wore green, marched in parades, celebrated Irish heritage, and wondered how in the world St. Patrick could have lost to Constance in the first round of Lent Madness 2011, we're back for another full week of saintly thrills and spills! Believe it or not, we're halfway through the Round of 32 with eight contests decided and eight more to go.

To catch everyone up, on Friday, Ephrem of Nisibis routed Mellitus 70% to 30% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen, where he'll face John Chrysostom. Today, we're back to our Biblical saints as Tabitha squares off against Dismas on the plush purple carpet of the Lent Dome.

Stay tuned as later today Tim and Scott will release another epic episode of Monday Madness. For the uninitiated, the award-winning* Monday Madness is a production of the Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness, featuring high production values and even higher content value. These brief, split screen videos filmed live and (believe it or not) always in a single take, offer color commentary and inside information on issues related to Lent Madness. For the true aficionado of the Saintly Smackdown it is must-see-TV.

*Fine - "award-winning."

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In perhaps the first true resounding upset of Lent Madness 2019, Marina the Monk swept aside Dominic 62% to 38% to secure a spot in the Saintly Sixteen against Ignatius of Loyola.

In the last matchup of the first full week of the saintly season, it's Mellitus vs. Ephrem of Nisibis. Or Bishop vs. Deacon (not that we'd ever encourage the pitting of ecclesiastical orders against one another).

After a full, intense week of reading, learning, disagreeing, and hopefully being inspired, it's time for some respite from our little competition. From here on out, there will be no contests on Saturdays or Sundays. We occasionally share some weekend posts here on the website, and you can always check Facebook and Twitter for additional content, including some saintly recipes courtesy of the Lent Madness Celebrity Chef, Maria Virginia.

After today, the next vote will take place first thing Monday morning as the round of 32 continues with Tabitha vs. Dismas. In the meantime, get to it!

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In yesterday's saintly action, Richard Allen defeated Hannah Grier Coome 61% to 39% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen, where he'll face William Wilberforce for a shot at the Elate Eight.

Today it's Dominic vs. Marina the Monk in this intriguing battle of monastics. The winner of this matchup will square off against Ignatius of Loyola in the next round.

Yesterday's contest is, to our mind, one of the best things about Lent Madness (besides the swag in the Lentorium): Two lesser known saints with fascinating backstories amplified under the warm glow of the purple lights, to our collective inspiration and edification. Plus, while she didn't win, the electioneering by the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine in Canada on behalf of Hannah Grier Coome was something otherworldly (she was one of their early leaders). We encourage you to like their Facebook page, where you can see the good work they're doing and watch the slick (okay, heartwarming) campaign video they produced on Hannah's behalf. Nicely done, good sisters!

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In the closest battle of Lent Madness 2019 to date, Nicodemus edged James the Greater 51% to 49% yesterday to advance to the Saintly Sixteen where he'll face Martha of Bethany for a shot at the Elate Eight. See? Every (single) vote counts! But be aware that multiple voting will get you cast out into the outer darkness of Lent Madness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Remember, Big Lent is watching...

Today, we head up to the Great White North of Canada to meet Hannah Grier Coome and back down to Philadelphia to encounter the pioneering ministry of Richard Allen.

Yesterday, in addition to the nail biting Biblical matchup, we offered everyone a rare glimpse behind the Purple Curtain that is the Supreme Executive Committee. In case you missed it, you can catch up here.

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On rare occasions, we offer the Lent Madness public a brief glimpse into the men behind the madness. Tim Schenck and Scott Gunn, the self-appointed Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness, prefer to remain shrouded in purple mystery.

This week, however, both of them engaged in non-SEC related conversations and we thought we'd share them.

Scott, the executive director of Forward Movement, had the opportunity to share his sermon for the First Sunday in Lent with the folks at Day1. Titled "My Life Has Never Been the Same," Scott's sermon aired on over 200 radio stations across the country this past weekend. This was paired with an interview conducted with Day1 Executive Director Peter Wallace. In it, Scott spoke about Lent, Lent Madness, and even mentioned Tim. You can listen to the whole interview and sermon right here. .

Tim, rector of the Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, MA, had the opportunity to sit down with Sandra Montes of the Episcopal Church Foundation to participate in her Lenten podcast series. You can listen to the episode titled "Fangirling with Tim Schenck." In it, Tim talked about Lent, Lent Madness, his forthcoming book on coffee and faith titled Holy Grounds (Fortress Press), and even mentioned Scott.

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After a day in which two ascetics battled it out in the wilderness, John Chrysostom emerged victorious over Margaret of Cortona 53% to 47% -- despite a late push by Margaret -- to advance to the Saintly Sixteen. He'll face the winner of Mellitus vs. Ephrem of Nisibis.

Today we return to the Biblical quadrant of the bracket as James the Greater faces Nicodemus. For those who followed the Supreme Executive Committee's shenanigans at last summer's Lent Madness Day at General Convention in Austin, Texas, you'll recall this included a play-in match between James the Great and James the Less. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Greater lived up to his name, leaving the Lesser to wallow in saintly ignominy.

Finally, in case you missed yesterday's edition of Monday Madness, for which you should do some serious penance, you can still catch it here.

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It's Monday, and that means it's time for another epic episode of Monday Madness, in which Tim and Scott bring you Oscar-worthy* weekly updates on Lent Madness action.

As the name would indicate, the Supreme Executive Committee is extremely humble. In today's episode, which they filmed on their knees, they leave their comfort zone to share some big news about the record-breaking 2019 Opening Day numbers, including most page views ever (39,000) and most votes ever (nearly 11,000). They also celebrate the Lent Madness Twitter account crossing the 5,000 follower threshold. Speaking of which, are you following @LentMadness on Twitter? You should be.

For an unprecedented two weeks running, they don't mention the Lentorium, but don't let that stop you from making a visit.

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Welcome back for the first FULL WEEK of Lent Madness 2019. If you're just joining in the fun, we're glad you're here! There's plenty of madness to go and we're delighted to have people jump aboard the purple Lenten train at any point in the season.

Over the weekend, in the only Saturday battle of the season, Ignatius of Loyola strode past Tikhon of Zadonsk 65% to 35% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen, where he'll face the winner of Dominic vs. Marina the Monk.

Today we make our first foray into the Miscellaneous quadrant of the bracket as John Chrysostom faces Margaret of Cortona. Perhaps we should have had a play-in round to decide, once and for all, whether the correct pronunciation of "Chrysostom" should have the accent on the first or second syllable. But however you pronounce it, this should prove an intriguing battle to kick off your Monday.

And don't forget, later today, in order to make your Monday complete, Tim and Scott will be releasing another epic episode of everyone's favorite penitential viewing experience: Monday Madness. Stay tuned! (or just binge-watch old episodes).

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Welcome to the one and only Saturday matchup of Lent Madness 2019. Grab your coffee, cook up some Eggs St. Benedict, read about some saintly souls, and cast the third and final vote of the week. But first, an update on yesterday's battle: William Wilberforce forced his way past Agatha Lin Zhao 59% to 41% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen, where he'll square off against the winner of Hannah Grier Coome vs. Richard Allen.

Don't forget, our online bracket is updated and filled in with the latest results each morning by Adam Thomas (along with his inimitable headlines) on our Bracket Page. This will come in especially handy in later rounds when you need a quick reference guide to refresh your memory on the brilliant earlier write-ups provided by our Celebrity Bloggers. If you're curious about when your favorite saint will be competing, you can scroll down on the bracket page to check out the invaluable and handy Matchup Calendar.

Today we take our first stab at the Monastics & Martyrs side of the Bracket as Ignatius of Loyola faces off against Tikhon of Zadonsk. And we should note that, in a Lent Madness scheduling quirk, Distinguished Celebrity Blogger Megan Castellan has had a saint doing battle on the first three days of this new season - Mary, Wilberforce, and Tikhon. Whew!

So, go vote, don't forget to set your clocks ahead an hour tonight, go to church on Sunday, (where you'll tell everyone at coffee hour to join in the fun over at Lent Madness), and we'll see you bright and early Monday morning as John Chrysostom squares off against Margaret of Cortona.

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Congratulations! You survived the very first day of Lent Madness 2019. Which is more than we can say for Mary of Bethany, who was bounced by her sister Martha 58% to 42%. Martha becomes our first saint to qualify for the Saintly Sixteen, where she'll face the winner of James the Greater vs. Nicodemus.

You should also congratulate yourself for having participated in a record setting day in the annals of Lent Madness history. Yesterday's sibling matchup received nearly 10,500 votes, with over 500 comments, and more page views than we've ever had on a single day (almost 39,000, for those keeping score at home). And, despite a few shaky moments, you didn't crash the server!

Today, in saintly action it's William Wilberforce, the 18th century English abolitionist and reformer, squaring off against Agatha Lin Zhao, Chinese Christian and educator.

Don't forget that tomorrow is the ONLY SATURDAY MATCHUP of Lent Madness 2019. After Ignatius of Loyola faces Tikhon of Zadonsk, voting will strictly take place on the weekdays of Lent, giving everyone a needed breather from the intensity of everyone's favorite online Lenten devotion.

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