The Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness congratulates Harriet Tubman for winning the 2020 Golden Halo. Harriet became the 11th saint to wear the highly coveted crown by defeating the always-inspiring and statuesque runner up, St. Joseph. She joins previous Golden Halo winners George Herbert (2010), C.S. Lewis (2011), Mary Magdalene (2012), Frances Perkins (2013), Charles Wesley (2014), Francis of Assisi (2015), Dietrich Bonhoeffer (2016), Florence Nightingale (2017), Anna Alexander (2018), and Martha of Bethany (2019).

What’s nearly as important as announcing the Golden Halo winner? Sharing the Lentorium link to the winner’s swag! Be the first one on your block to order the official Harriet Tubman 2020 Golden Halo mug. Your brand new mug will ship later this spring in plenty of time for you to serve your friends warm beverages (from a safe distance and without touching anything).

Want to nominate a saint for Lent Madness 2021? Tim and Scott will be opening up the week-long nomination process (aka Nominationtide) in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Finally, blessings to all as we head into the Triduum and enter into the death and resurrection of our Lord. It’s been a privilege to have you join us on our Lenten pilgrimage. Stay safe out there, folks, and know that you remain in our prayers.

It’s hard to believe our Lent Madness journey is nearing its inevitable end. We kicked things off over five weeks ago on “Ash Thursday” with 32 saintly souls (which somehow seems a lot longer than that this year). With your help, the field has now been whittled down to just two: Harriet Tubman and Joseph. Who will be awarded the coveted 2020 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 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.

In the process of this whimsical Lenten devotion we’ve all made some new online friends, encountered a community of believers who take their faith but not themselves too seriously, learned some things, were inspired by saintly witnesses, and hopefully had some fun along the way. (more…)