There's still one vote to go and a full twenty-four hours before full onset Lent Madness Withdrawal (LMW) sets in! So make this one count as Roch faces Julian of Norwich. Will this battle go to the dogs? Or will all manner of things be well?

To get to this round, Roch defeated Gertrude while Julian snuck past William Wilberforce. The winner will face Albert Schweitzer in the Elate Eight. While yesterday, Sojourner (Nothing but the) Truth slammed the door shut on Frances Joseph Gaudet 67% to 33%.

After a full week of Saintly Sixteen action, we have just two more slots up for grabs in the Elate Eight. Today's battle will decide one of them and on Monday the last matchup of this round will see Dietrich Bonhoeffer take on Barnabas. The field is narrowing as the chase for the coveted Golden Halo continues.

(more…)

Today two powerful, trail-blazing women face off as Sojourner Truth takes on Frances Joseph-Gaudet. In the first round, Sojourner made quick work of Soren Kierkegaard while Frances defeated John Mason Neale. The winner of this epic battle will face Absalom Jones in the Elate Eight.

Let's just state from the outset that, no, you can't vote for both. And abstaining only makes you come off as indecisive. So, read, revel in their respective accomplishments, and then vote!

Yesterday Vida Dutton Scudder upset Clare of Assisi 52% to 48%. Is Vida the first true Cinderella of Lent Madness 2016?

(more…)

The day after International Women's Day, we have two international women squaring off in the Lent Dome. Clare of Assisi (Italy!) takes on Vida Dutton Scudder (America!).

To make it thus far, Clare trounced Denis while Vida sailed past F.D. Maurice. Who will make face Constance in the Elate Eight? Only your vote and the next 24 hours will decide.

Yesterday Columba mastered Meister Eckhart 60% to 40 to advance to the next round.

And in the midst of the Saintly Sixteen, the SEC just wanted to offer a quick shout-out to all of our hard-working Celebrity Bloggers. As we get deeper into Lent, the turnaround times for the write-ups gets tighter. This is all being done in real time, folks! So if you spot a harried-looking CB, someone who may also be leading a congregation through Lent, give them a word of encouragement as you ask for their autograph. And then let them get back to their most important and holy task-at-hand.

(more…)

Our trek into saintly Quirks and Quotes continues with Meister Eckhart taking on Columba. To make it to the Saintly Sixteen Eckhart somehow managed to defeat Drogo, the patron saint of coffee, while Columba snuck past Kateri Tekakwitha in the closest encounter (of the saintly kind) of Lent Madness 2016.

Don't forget, especially if you're just getting started in Lent Madness, that links to all the previous battles are available on the Bracket page (scroll down). In other words, what you read in this round isn't all that has been written about our saints. You can read the initial bios in additional to these write-ups and make a fully informed decision. To make this as user friendly as possible, you can even click the links in the first paragraph above to revisit the first round matchups of both Meister Eckhart and Columba. Yes, throughout Lent, the Supreme Executive Committee continues to lose sleep on your behalf.

Yesterday, Albert Schweitzer made it past Methodius 56% to 44% to claim his spot in the Elate Eight. He'll face the winner of Roch vs. Julian of Norwich.

And in case you missed yesterday's edition of Monday Madness, you can watch it here. Learn how to submit your Mug Shot (and view several examples) to have a crack at winning St. Francis of Assisi!

(more…)

In today's episode of Monday Madness, Lady Edith and Lady Mary both find love. Or not. Actually, Tim and Scott do make reference to Downton Abbey, but you'll have to tune into PBS to find out what happens to the Crawleys. But in this week's Monday Madness episode you CAN see some excellent examples of the #LentMadness #MugShot genre. This is the last week to get your submission in so that you can possibly win your very own St. Francis! Deadline is March 15, so hurry up and post your #LentMadness #MugShot.

As you wait for next week's episode of Monday Madness whilst mourning the loss of Downton Abbey, why not binge-watch every episode on LentMadnessTV? You can also spend hours wandering the aisles of the Lentorium, either in the nearest brick & mortar store or our world-famous online commerce destination.

(more…)

Wake up! Lent Madness is back for another full week of saintly, halo-busting action. We begin with the third matchup of the Saintly Sixteen, where we continue to encounter saintly Quirks and Quotes, as Methodius faces Albert Schweitzer. To get to this round, Methodius beat his brother Cyril in the Slavic Smackdown® while Schweitzer grilled Lawrence.

The winner of this battle will join Constance and Absalom Jones (who squeaked past Joseph on Friday 52% to 48%) in the Elate Eight.

We do hope everyone successfully made it through another weekend of Lent Madness Withdrawal (LMW). This is not an affliction to joke about as many of the Lent Madness faithful have suffered deep emotional scars from the lack of voting for 48 hours. The Supreme Executive Committee keeps a slew of Lent Madness chaplains on call 24 hours a day over the weekends of Lent. We have the number around here somewhere...

(more…)

The Saintly Sixteen continues with Absalom Jones taking on Joseph. In the first round, Jones defeated Matthias by the largest margin of Lent Madness 2016, 82% to 18% while Absalom Jones swept past Christina Rossetti by the second largest margin, 79% to 21%. Will this be a harbinger of a tightly contested race? Only time and your (single) vote will tell.

And, yes, the Supreme Executive Committee already knows this matchup is "not fair." But of course, that's the whole point of Lent Madness -- it's not about who wins, but about how much you learn and are inspired by these incredible holy men and women who have come before us in the faith. We assure you none of these saintly souls care one iota about winning the Golden Halo -- they've already won their crown of righteousness by virtue of their faithfulness. (Well, maybe they care just a little -- it affords them some pretty sweet heavenly street cred). The real "winners?" Everyone who takes the time to read, learn, and be inspired along this Lenten journey.

Yesterday, in the first matchup of the Saintly Sixteen, Constance defeated Helena 69% to 31%. She'll go on to face the winner of Clare vs. Vida Dutton Scudder in the Elate Eight. Today is the last battle of the week but fear not! We'll be back bright and early Monday morning as Methodius takes on Albert Schweitzer in the Lent Dome.

(more…)

Welcome to the Round of the Saintly Sixteen. Sixteen saints in Lent Madness 2016 have been sent packing and sixteen more remain as the struggle for the coveted Golden Halo continues. Get ready for some high stakes, thrilling saintly action over the coming days. Click the Bracket tab to view the updated tournament bracket and see all the upcoming matchups (you do know it's updated daily by our unsung Bracket Czar Adam Thomas, right?).

Round One consisted of basic biographical information about the saints. Since there’s no need to rehash previously covered ground, the Round of the Saintly Sixteen is made up of what we call Quirks & Quotes. Prepare for some little known facts or legends accompanied by quotes either by or about the saint in question. As you make your decision, you can always review the previous rounds by again clicking on the Bracket tab and scrolling down. Simply click the link to the previous battle and voila! All the earlier information is at your fingertips.

Yesterday saw the conclusion of the first round as Barnabas defeated Elmo 72% to 28%. Apparently Barnabas did not include Elmo as he sang the irritating song about being "a happy family." Who knew?

Today it's two women, separated by 1,600 years or so, squaring off to make it to the Elate Eight. To get to this point, Helena defeated Monnica in the Matronly Meltdown (the very first matchup of Lent Madness 2016) while Constance defeated Dominic. Ladies and gentlemen, start your Saintly Sixteen engines!

(more…)

Ah, the last battle of the First Round is finally upon us. Barnabas vs. Elmo. Or, as the Supreme Executive Committee, has dubbed it, Barney vs. Elmo. It's a furry red and purple Lenten miracle!

Yesterday, on the Lent Madness version of Super Tuesday, Frances Joseph-Gaudet left John Mason Neale singing the blues as she handily defeated him 68% to 32% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen, where she'll face Sojourner Truth.

All the voting excitement of Super Tuesday didn't keep the Forward Movement staff from having a bit of fun, as you can see with our Barney vs. Elmo banner, fashioned by Michael Phillips in between designing book covers and websites. No word on whether he's putting his skills to work on a Tim vs. Scott meme.

Tomorrow the long-anticipated Round of the Saintly Sixteen begins. But first it's time to vote and put the final nail in the first round coffin (don't worry -- we firmly believe in resurrection).

(more…)

After what has felt like an interminable lead-up, it's finally Super Tuesday. People in 13 states across America will be voting in presidential primaries today. To which the Supreme Executive Committee says, "Whatever. The Lent Madness faithful has been voting every day since Ash Thursday."

What you won't find in Lent Madness are any hanging chads (Though Chad of Lichfield has appeared in the Saintly Smackdown). Nonetheless, this is a day to celebrate the democratic process so we are sharing some Lent Madness-style slogans to serve as inspiration for those heading to the polls.

10. Feel the Burn(-ished Golden Halo)

9. It's Morning in America -- which means it's time to vote in Lent Madness

8. Putting Halos Fist

7. I'm with Hilary (of Poitiers)

6. All the Way With MLK

5. Halos We Can Believe In

4. John! (the Baptist)

3. It Takes a Village (to Make a Saint)

2. I Like Mike (the Archangel)

1. Make Heaven Great Again

(more…)