Welcome to the Faithful Four! From an initial field of 32 saints, we are down to a holy four: Teresa of Avila, Madeleine Sophie Barat, Thomas of Villanova, and José Hernández.

Throughout Lent Madness, our saintly heroes have battled via basic bios, quirks and quotes, and even 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.

The Faithful Four continues today and tomorrow and then, on Spy Wednesday, 24 hours of voting begins to determine the winner of the 2022 Golden Halo.

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Our wild week of kitschy saintly action comes to a conclusion today. One final spot in the Faithful Four remains up for grabs and, while we won't know for 24 hours who has nabbed the last spot, we do know this: his name will be Thomas. Today, Thomas of Villanova faces Thomas Aquinas. To get here, Thomas of Villanova defeated Aloysius Gonzaga and Hilary of Poitiers, while Thomas Aquinas dispatched Jerome (barely!) and Oscar.

Yesterday, Madeleine Sophie Barat easily slid past Origen 72% to 28% to join Teresa of Avila and José Hernández in the Faithful Four.

Enjoy the weekend of palms and we'll see you first thing Monday morning as Teresa of Avila faces Madeleine Barat. Vote now!

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The madcap Elate Eight continues today as Origen faces Madeleine Sophie Barat. To make it this deep into the bracket, Origen defeated Hilda of Whitby and Juana Ines de la Cruz, while Madeleine took out Mesrop Mashtots and Columbanus.

Yesterday in YET ANOTHER tightly contested battle of Lent Madness 2022, José Hernández squeezed past James Holly 52% to 48% to snag the second spot in the Faithful Four.

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The Round of Saintly Kitsch continues as José Gregorio Hernández faces James Holly in a battle of the J's. Which J will advance to the Faithful Four? That's up to you. To get here, José defeated Constance of Memphis and Emma of Hawaii, while James took down Lydia and Kateri Tekakwitha.

In yesterday's Elate Eight action, Teresa of Avila trounced Juliana of Liege 75% to 25% to become the fist saint to nab a spot in the Faithful Four.

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And then, believe it or not, there were eight! Today, and for the rest of the week, we will work our way through the Elate Eight, aka the Round of Saintly Kitsch. Not long from now, one of these saintly souls will be crowned with the 2022 Golden Halo: Teresa of Avila, Juliana of Liege, James Holly, José Gregorio Hernández, Origen, Madeleine Barat, Thomas of Villanova, or Thomas Aquinas (who snagged the last spot yesterday by sweeping past Oscar).

We kick things off with Teresa of Avila vs. Julian of Liege. To get to this point, Teresa defeated Crispin and Stephen, while Juliana took down Blaise and Cecilia. Don't forget, you can always pull up more...relevant information about the saints in this round by visiting previous battles in the archive on the home page and scrolling down to click on their past encounters.

What exactly is saintly kitsch? You might say it's in the eye of the beholder. Or that you know it when you see it. But, in the end, we hope this round brings out some levity, even as we continue our inspiring Lenten journey.

Oh, and if by some unknown and wholly unacceptable reason you forgot to watch Monday Madness yesterday, check it out here.

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Everyone is talking about brackets and championships because...it's the week of the Elate Eight! As we reach the dramatic peak of Lent Madness XIII, Tim and Scott are back with a preview of the eight teams, er saints, that have earned berths in what is also known in penitential circles as the Round of Saintly Kitsch.

This is the time of year when some people get grumpy about Lent Madness. Instead of going back and reading the basic biographies and quirks & quotes from previous rounds, they turn into Kitsch Kranks. The Supreme Executive Committee is here with their annual reminder of the Great Commandments of Lent Madness.

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Hey, we've almost made it through the entire Saintly Sixteen! After Oscar/Ansgar takes on Thomas Aquinas (he of the one vote victory over Jerome), we'll be on to the Elate Eight.

On Friday, Origen edged his way past Juana Inés de la Cruz to make it to the next round.

And since it's Monday, you can start refreshing your browser until a new episode of Monday Madness magically appears. Which it will. eventually. Now go vote!

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Welcome to the final battle of the week AND the (actual) penultimate battle of the Saintly Sixteen.

Yesterday in the Saintly Smackdown, José Gregorio Hernández defeated Emma of Hawaii 55% to 45%.

On Tuesday next week we kick off the Elate Eight. In the meantime, on Monday, prepare for Oscar vs. Thomas Aquinas. Hang onto your halos!

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In the penultimate matchup of the Saintly Sixteen, it's Emma of Hawaii vs. José Gregorio Hernández. The winner advances to the Elate Eight to take on James Holly.

Yesterday, in another hotly contested battle, Juliana of Liege took down Ceceilia, narrowly defeating her by less than a percentage point. What is it with these absurdly close battles of Lent Madness 2022?!

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Saintly Sixteen hump day finds us with Cecilia doing battle with Juliana of Liege. Who will advance? Well, that's up to you.

Yesterday, Thomas of Villanova swept into the Elate Eight with a victory over Hilary of Poitiers 65% to 35%.

And if you missed yesterday's special Tuesday edition of Monday Madness, color us shocked. And then watch it here.

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