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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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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After a full year of holy anticipation, Lent Madness returns for another season of saintly thrills and spills! Whether this is your tenth year engaging in the annual saintly smackdown or your first, we're delighted you'll be spending a portion of your Lenten journey among us. Along the way there will be debates, ire, angst, rejoicing, laughter, and holy trash talking. Just remember, it’s all in the spirit of this holy season specifically set aside to grow closer to God through our relationship with Jesus Christ.

To experience the fullness of the Lent Madness experience, the Supreme Executive Committee encourages you to do several things. First, like Lent Madness on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter. Second, subscribe to the Lent Madness e-mails so you never miss a vote. You can do this by going to the home page of our website and entering your e-mail address (near the top right). Third, you can support the ministry of Lent Madness by heading over to the Lentorium and purchasing Lent Madness swag.

But mostly, we encourage you to read about the 32 saintly souls participating in this year's edition of Lent Madness, faithfully cast your (single!) vote on the weekdays of Lent, and add your comments to the great cloud of participating witnesses that gathers as the online Lent Madness community each year.

Lent Madness 2019, or Lent Madness X as we've been calling it, kicks off with a battle between two Biblical heavyweights as we settle, once and for all, the age old question: Mary vs. Martha. And before you say it, of course it's not fair! It's not called Lent Madness for nothing.

So, hang onto your halos, friends, and prepare yourselves for another wild ride of saintly action. Away we go!

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