As Lent Madness reaches its peak excitement with the onset of the Faithful Four, Tim and Scott are back with another episode of Monday Madness. They give an overview of the Faithful Four and the coming Championship smackdown, but also assure you that the 2021 Golden Halo will be awarded in time for you to properly observe the latter part of Holy Week. Because Godliness comes before silliness. Or cleanliness. Or something.

Naturally, there's a bit of product placement, as Scott sips (single origin coffee*) from his 2019 Golden Halo Winner Martha of Bethany mug. You can get your own mug, too! And also a hint of what's coming for everybody's favorite ecclesiastical season of Nominationtide.

Even the Supreme Executive Committee, not known for their tiny egos or excessive humility, must admit that Lent Madness could not happen without legions of bloggers, writers, editors, researchers, marketers, bracket-keepers, videographers, poets, and more. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who makes Lent Madness possible.

This is here for social media sharing and also so you can tape it to your fridge as a reminder to come back to this website on Wednesday to learn about its special name.

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Welcome to the Faithful Four! From an initial field of 32 saints, we have sliced the field down to four saints. Only one of whom will be crowned with the 2021 Golden Halo. It's all comes down to Benedict the Moor, who faces Ives of Kermartin today and Catherine of Genoa, who squares off against Absalom Jones tomorrow. Then on Spy Wednesday, the two remaining titans of faith will compete for the ultimate prize, with the winner being announced at 8:00 am Eastern time on Maundy Thursday.

To get to this round, Benedict defeated Nino of Georgia, Euphrosyne, and Camillus de Lellis. While Ives took down Jacapone da Todi, Dunstan, and Arnulf of Metz.

After learning about our saintly heroes 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.

Let's get this Faithful Four party started!

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After a madcap few days of saintly kitsch, we are down to the final battle of the Elate Eight. Today Albert the Great takes on Catherine of Genoa with the last spot in the Faithful Four at stake. The winner will face Absalom Jones in the next round.

To reach the Elate Eight, Albert took down Leo the Great and Empress Theodora, while Catherine bested Catherine of Bologna and Isidora the Simple.

Yesterday Ives of Kermartin defeated Arnulf of Metz 62% to 38%, meaning he'll take on Benedict the Moor in the first matchup of the Faithful Four. Be sure to tune in first thing Monday morning as things really start to heat up in Lent Madness 2021. The end is drawing nigh!

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At the midway point of the Elate Eight, the onslaught of saintly kitsch continues as Ives of Kermartin squares off against Arnulf of Metz. To get to the Elate Eight, Ives bested Jacapone da Todi and Dunstan, while Arnulf took out Vincent Saragossa and Egeria.

Yesterday Absalom Jones advanced to the faithful four, taking down Catherine Booth 55% to 45%.

Time to head to the voting booth!

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Hey, look! You survived the first round of the Elate Eight and have returned for more Saintly Kitsch. Kudos to you! Yesterday, in a hotly contested battle, Benedict the Moor narrowly defeated Camillus de Lellis 52%to 48% to nail down the first spot in the Faithful Four.

Today Absalom Jones faces Catherine Booth. To get here, Absalom defeated Henriette Delille and Marianne Cope, while Catherine took down Joan of Arc and Constantine. The kitsch keeps coming!

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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 2021 Golden Halo: Camillus de Lellis, Benedict the Moor, Absalom Jones, Catherine Booth, Ives of Kermartin, Arnulf of Metz, Albert the Great, or Catherine of Genoa (who snagged the last spot yesterday by easily dispatching Isidora the Simple 74% to 26%).

The round's first matchup sees Camillus de Lellis take on Benedict the Moor. To get here, Camillus bested Matthias and Melangell, while Benedict took down Nino of Georgia and Euphrosyne. Don't forget, you can always pull up more...relevant information about the saints in this round by visiting the Bracket Tab and scrolling down to click on their previous 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. If you need even more insights, check out yesterday's thrill-a-minute episode of Monday Madness. But, in the end, we hope this round brings out some levity, even as we continue our inspiring Lenten journey.

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We love alliteration here at Lent Madness HQ. So naturally, we're bringing you the Elate Eight Edition of Marvelous Monday Madness. Tim and Scott are back with another award-winning* episode of Monday Madness, in which they partake in a couple of annual traditions. And not just because they've run out of fresh material.

First, there's a bit of saintly kitsch show & tell, as we enter the round of saintly kitsch. Second, and like unto it, because we're at the kitsch round, we usually encounter a few Kitsch Kranks, the people who hate this part of Lent Madness. To that end, the SEC gives you the Summary of the (Lent Madness) Law. Again.

Would it even be an episode of Monday Madness without some product placement or high-pressure sales tactics? Now that it's spring, that means it's time for spring cleaning. Who better to invoke as the patron saint of spring cleaning than Martha of Bethany, famously overproductive domestic superstar? Fuel up with some caffeine from a Martha of Bethany 2019 Golden Halo winner mug. Your vacuum cleaner will thank you. Your dust mites will not.

* OK, sure, Monday Madness hasn't won any awards YET. But in our imagination we have several Oscars because they're so obviously deserved.

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Welcome to the first matchup of the week AND the last battle of the Saintly Sixteen. The first will be last, and the last will be first, apparently, and all that. Today we return to the ever-confusing Confusion Corner quadrant of the bracket as Isidora the Simple faces Catherine of Genoa. You'll recall that to get to this round, Isidora defeated Simeon the Holy Fool while Catherine took out her namesake from Bologna.

If you missed the results of Friday's fracas, Ives of Kermartin reached the Elate Eight by taking down Dunstan 67% to 33%.

And, since it's Monday, you'll want to keep refreshing your browser all day until Monday Madness miraculously shows up at some point. But in the meantime, go vote!

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In the last battle of the week -- and the penultimate matchup of the Saintly Sixteen -- Ives of Kermartin faces Dunstan. To get here, Ives beat Jacapone da Todi while Dunstan took out Maryam of Qidun.

In a hotly contested battle yesterday, Absalom Jones snuck past Marianne Cope 52% to 48% to snag a spot in the Elate Eight, where he'll face Catherine Booth. See? These matchups only get harder and harder.

We'll be back first thing Monday morning to finish up this round and then, on Tuesday, things get serious (or not so serious, as the case may be) as we commence the Elate Eight.

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Welcome to another day in this long and winding saintly road that is Lent Madness. Today we get Marianne Cope taking on Absalom Jones with the prize being a date in the Elate Eight with Catherine Booth.

Yesterday, in the greatest margin of victory thus far in our fair little Lenten bracket, Benedict the Moor trounced Euphrosyne 85% to 15%.

Before rushing into the voting booth, please take a moment to give thanks to this year's Celebrity Bloggers. These folks work for peanuts (well, free mugs) to illuminate the lives of our 32 saints. We give them very few words in which to accomplish this and, beyond the first round, very little time. With most of our writers intensely busy during this season (comes with the ecclesiastical territory), and a rabid crowd of Lent Madness adherents analyzing their every jot and tittle, it's not always an enviable task.

One of the reasons we love the comment section is that the lives of the competing saints are often illuminated in ways that space constraints do not allow. Plus, the unique perspectives of the Lent Madness community paint a much fuller picture than any one writer can offer. Thank you for continuing with us on this journey, and please join us in gratitude for our wonderfully faithful and talented stable of writers.

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