On this second day of Lent Madness 2025, we continue our alphabetical journey through the bracket as Emily Cooper faces off against Dunstan. 19th century American deaconess vs. 10th century English bishop. In other words, the kind of wacky matchup you will only find right here at Lent Madness.

Yesterday, Athanasius of Alexandria deterred Richard Meux Benson 61% to 39% to become the first saint to advance to the Saintly Sixteen. Yes, there were a few Opening Day glitches, but in the end, everyone's votes got counted -- despite the occasional error message. Thanks for your forbearance as we continue to address issues as they arise.

We're excited to offer another fun and helpful resource created by Lent Madness super fan Lindsey Hardegree. Click here to download a free template to help you track your saintly predictions, keep notes on saints that particularly inspire you, and keep a personal record Lent Madness history. Thanks, Lindsey!

And don't forget that tomorrow is the ONLY Saturday matchup of the season as Elizabeth of Hungary takes on Felicity. After this matchup, all voting will take place exclusively on the weekdays of Lent (it's a math thing, you wouldn't understand).

Time to vote!

Emily Cooper
Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky, is the final resting place for many historical figures. Harlan Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken; Muhammad Ali; and Patty Hill, composer of the song Happy Birthday, all have prominent grave markers at Cave Hill.

In an older part of the cemetery is the grave of Emily Cooper. She served as one of the early deaconesses trained and commissioned out of St. Mary’s Church in Brooklyn, New York. A forty-four-year-old widow, Emily relocated to her native Kentucky after her commissioning and, in 1880, became the first director for The Home of the Innocents in Louisville, Kentucky.

This Home provided a safe place for infants and small children who were abused, orphaned, or abandoned. Children whose parents could not rear them, because of the systemic pressures that created mass poverty, also came to live at the Home. Local hospitals and orphanages frequently sent infants who had been left, often to die, to the Home so that they would be loved in their final weeks and months. Many children were simply placed in baskets on the front steps of the Home. Regardless of how they arrived, Emily and the many women who worked there nurtured, cared for, and loved the children. She oversaw the creation and development of the first kindergarten in Kentucky.

Emily named the infants who arrived nameless. She created a community that loved them and protected them in a culture that too often saw the poorest children as disposable. She assisted at the baptism of almost three hundred of the children at the Home. And she cared for those who were dying until they drew their final breath. Under her guidance, the Home became one of the leading charity organizations in Louisville and remains a vital ministry today.

Two hundred and twenty of the children who died at the Home are buried, along with Sister Emily, at Cave Hill Cemetery. While records indicate the plots, most of the graves are unmarked. Two sculptures of Deaconess Emily mark the area. In one, she is holding an infant heavenward, and the infant is releasing a dove. The other is of Deaconess Emily shaking out a blanket with a butterfly pattern, with the butterflies coming to life and ascending to God. Its base has the names of the children buried in the plot, as well as an inscription to those children whose names are known to God alone.

Collect for Emily Cooper

God of the holy innocents, we thank you for the motherly witness of your deaconess Emily Cooper, who, in naming and baptizing, did not forget the children: Draw our hearts and minds also to the plight of little ones, always remembering your Son’s teaching that in receiving a little child in his name, we receive Christ himself, who lives and reigns with you and the Spirit, as one, caring for ever and ever. Amen.

— Laurie Brock

Dunstan

Dunstan is an incredible English saint. He was a monk, bishop, and statesman.

Dunstan was born in 909. He studied under Irish monks and excelled in all forms of learning and craftsmanship. He ultimately was tonsured and came into the service of King Æthelstan.

Dunstan quickly became one of the king’s most favored of the court. His jealous peers accused him of witchcraft and magic, and he was expelled from the court. As he left, he was savagely beaten, bound, and thrown into a cesspool. He managed to drag himself to the house of a friend before he made his escape to Winchester.

As Dunstan recovered in Winchester, the Bishop of Winchester encouraged him to become a monk. Dunstan resisted the call, fearing that celibacy would be too much to bear. He developed sores all over his body (maybe because he was bound and thrown into a cesspool???) He saw this as a sign and accepted the call, taking holy orders in 943.

He built a small cell (just five feet by two-and-a-half feet) and began his monastic life. There are many legends of Dunstan wrestling with the devil in that tiny space. In one story, he was tempted by the devil and resisted him by holding his face with hot tongs. The folk rhyme reads,

         Saint Dunstan, as the story goes,
         Once pull’d the devil by the nose
         With red-hot tongs, which made him roar,
         That he was heard three miles or more.

(For more of these fun tales, be sure to vote Dunstan into the Saintly Sixteen!)

Dunstan eventually became Bishop of Worcester, then of London, before becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury. He also eventually returned to court, serving as Minister of State to multiple kings. His work with King Edgar is often seen as a golden age for England.

He worked to rebuild the monastic movement in England, built and restored churches, cared for those who were poor, and established schools and even taught young schoolboys.

After the assassination of King Edward, Dunstan retired and focused his remaining days on ministry. Dunstan died May 19, 988, and was canonized in 1029. He is a patron saint of goldsmiths and silversmiths.

Collect for Dunstan

Direct your Church, O Lord, into the beauty of holiness, that, following the good example of your servant Dunstan, we may honor your Son Jesus Christ with our lips and in our lives; to the glory of his Name, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

— David Creech