Live from the St Augustine’s Lobby at Forward Movement headquarters, the bells are ringing, the crowd has gathered, and the purple cloaked conclave is over! Fr. Michael and Fr. Christian have emerged with the blessing of the Supreme Executive Committee, and that can only mean one thing...
Welcome to Nominationtide!
Before we can pit saint against saint in the madness, we need you, yes, you in the pew, the pulpit, or just procrastinating at your desk, to help us decide who will enter the 2026 Lent Madness bracket! For one glorious week, you get to nominate a saint you believe is fit for a chance to win the coveted Golden Halo. Will it be a desert-dwelling hermit? A hymn-writing bishop? A martyred monastic with a flair for hospitality and a killer bread recipe? Only you can decide!
The Supreme Executive Committee (SEC), long may they reign in purple glory, has entrusted the 2026 bracket to the dynamic duo of Fr. Michael and Fr. Christian. They're keeping the tradition fun, holy, and wholly Lent Madness.
It’s a new day, but the same joyous madness. Through laughter, bracketology, and some surprisingly intense saintly showdowns, we continue growing in the knowledge and witness of the saints, and through them, in the love of Christ!
To ensure your SUCCESSFUL nomination, please consult the sacred Nominationtide Rules & Regulations, which are lovingly inscribed on a weathered scroll, sealed with a kiss, and currently secured in a waterproof tube beneath the Forward Movement koi pond.
The nominee must, in fact, be dead.
As you discern which saint to nominate, please keep in mind that a number of saints are ineligible for next year’s Saintly Smackdown. Based on longstanding tradition, this includes the entire field of Lent Madness 2025, those saints who made it to the Round of the Elate Eight in 2024 and 2023, and those from the 2022 Faithful Four.
Below is a comprehensive list of ineligible saints. Please keep this in mind as you submit your nominations. Do not waste your precious nomination on an ineligible saint! (it happens more than you'd think).
Time to nominate your favorite saint! But first, look over this list.
The Saints of Lent Madness 2025 (ineligible)
Dunstan
Elizabeth of Hungary
Emily Cooper
Felicity
Francis Xavier
Gregory the Great
Hiram Kano
Hugh of Lincoln
Irenaeus of Lyons
James the Just
Katharina Zell
Lucy of Syracuse
Lucy Yi Zhenmei
Mechthild of Magdeburg
Nicolaus von Zinzendorf
Ninian
Onesimus
Philip (Deacon and Evangelist)
Quiteria
Richard Meux Benson
Rose of Lima
Sundar Singh
Theodore of Tarsus
Ursula
Verena of Zurzach
Wenceslaus
Yvette of Huy
Zechariah
Zenaida
Zita of Tuscany
Agatha Lin Zhao
Athanasius of Alexandria
2024 & 2023 Elate Eight (ineligible)
Albert Schweitzer, Cornelius the Centurion, Henry Whipple, Canaire, Joseph of Arimathea, Julian of Norwich, Ambrose of Milan, Andrew the Fisherman, Bertha of Kent, Chief Seattle, Jonathan Daniels, Florence Li Tim-Oi, Joana tbe Myrrhbearer, Blandina, Marin De Porres, JS Bach
2022 Faithful Four (ineligible)
Teresa of Avila, Madeleine Barat, Thomas of Villanova
105 comments on “Happy Nominationtide!”
St. Teresa of Avila. She wrote the Interior Castle, which has guided my mind towards an alive image of the holiness of the soul. Her writing on prayer gave clear understanding of how prayer for the soul was like steps to watering a garden.
She made many foundations, and was a holy friend to John of the Cross. And her relationship with God was intimate (“Lord, if this is how you treat your friends, it’s no wonder you have so few”.) She survived being questioned by the inquisitors.
How can she NOT have a golden halo??
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Once again I Nominate Howard Thurman. I am truly hopeful that the Golden Halo Inteligencia will discern what a worthy choice he is to capture the Coveted Golden Halo.
After all, with all his publications, books, poems, sermons, civil rights accolades, oh, and did I mention the dedicated Howard Thurman wing at the prestigious Boston University where one can really dig deep into his accomplishments? The time is now. The time to include him in the lent madness extravaganza is now. Trust me.
I once again nominate Fred Rogers. He has long been an inspiration to many. If you want to see Christ in the world, you need only watch his shows and read his books. Everyone is special. Everyone is our neighbor. Love God and love your neighbor. This was his credo and his life was a gift to mankind. Please, please include him this year!
I would like to nominate Henri Nouwen. His writings are deeply inspiring for Christian reflection and growth. Thank you for continuing Lent Madness and the opportunity it presents to learn about the many people who have shaped our faith. I appreciate the amount of research done by the bloggers who also sprinkle in a sense of humor as the season progresses.
I nominate Mother Mary Lange who founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first religious order for women of color in America and became the first ever Black Superior General of an Order. Before that, she opened the first Catholic school for children of color anywhere in the US.
I nominate Pope John the 23rd. In his short time as pope he accomplished much but what I remember (I was 16 years old in 1963, when he died) was his astonishing joy. The love of God poured from him and was apparent in hsi life in a way that is seldom seen.
I would like to nominate Episcopalian and Episcopalian saint, Francis Perkins again, even though she was the 2013 Lent Madness Golden Halo recipient.
What innocent fools we were in 2013. What a simpler time. We had hope.
Thank you for this engaging Lenten program.
Eivind Josef Berggrav (25 October 1884 – 14 January 1959) was a Norwegian Lutheran bishop.
Berggrav achieved international renown for leading the Church of Norway's resistance to the Nazi occupation of Norway during World War II, even though he was under isolated house arrest during most of the war.
In the years immediately before the war, Bergrrav worked with then Crown Prince Olav and others to try to mediate between Germany and England. Shocked by the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, with its attempted capture of King Haakon VII, Berggrav initially appealed to Norwegian Christians to "refrain from any interference" and to refuse to "mix themselves up in the war by sabotage or in any other way. After King Haakon was forced to leave for England after 62 days of fighting, with his king's approval, Berggrav became the leader of the Administrative Council which tried to govern his occupied homeland. However, it became increasingly clear that the occupying Nazi powers would not honor their promises to allow Norwegians freedom of religion nor preserve their structures of government. On 25 September, the Nazis dissolved the Administrative Council, in favor of another established by Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian priest's son who had a military career before becoming a Nazi sympathizer (and whom King Haakon refused to appoint as prime minister after the 1940 Nazi invasion).
A month later Berggrav led his six fellow bishops of the Church of Norway, with ten leaders of other denominations, to form the Christian Council for Joint Deliberation. When the Nazis ordered the Church of Norway to alter its liturgical practices, Bishop Berggrav refused to comply. Matters grew even more serious in January 1942 when the Nazis wound down their occupation government and allowed Quisling (head of a party with only 1% popular support) to try again. On 1 February 1942, a group of Quisling sympathizers invaded Nidaros Cathedral and by the end of the day refused the Cathedral's Dean Kjellbu entry to conduct services. Thousands of Norwegians gathered outside to sing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God", and the following day all seven Norwegian bishops resigned.
Shortly after Easter, 1942, Berggrav was arrested, and Quisling tried to get him indicted, which provoked further public uproar. Along with four other members of the Christian Council, Berggrav was initially imprisoned in the Bredtvet concentration camp. Berggrav was saved from execution by Theodor Steltzer and Helmuth von Moltke, members of the Kreisau Circle and Schwarze Kapelle. Instead, the bishop was placed in solitary confinement at an isolated location in the forests north of Oslo, allowed to see no one but his guards. Almost all of the priests of the Church of Norway resigned in protest against the Nazi tyranny, as did teachers a few months later when faced with Quisling's proposal to force Norwegian children to join an organization modeled on the Hitler Youth. Since all the clergy of the Church of Norway were also civil servants at the time, this shunning of the orders of the Quisling regime sent a powerful message to Norwegians that tyrants would not be obeyed - no matter what the price.
With his guards' implicit cooperation, Berggrav often secretly left his hut in Asker to meet with the Norwegian underground. Because his face was well known, the bishop often wore disguises, such as a policeman's uniform or thick glasses and a fake mustache.In its Christmas 1944 edition, Time magazine put Berggrav on its cover; he thus became one of the relatively few Protestant religious figures to have received this honor. [from Wikipedia]
Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection's feast day is February 12, according to Carmelite Quotes. He is not formally canonised as a saint, but his writings, particularly The Practice of the Presence of God, are highly regarded within the Carmelite Order.
I nominate Hilda of Whitby. The whole necklace of light before her birth is cool, but I really like her being abbess of a dual monastery that was considered important enough to hold the Synod there. Also, that, although she preferred the Celtic forms, she bowed to the majority.
I see that people have nominated Pauli Murray and Dorothy Day, who would also be really great.
Saint Josaphat Patron Saint of Ukraine. I nominate a Saint from Ukraine. Our daughter-in-law and family are from Ukraine. I hope to focus Lent Madness attention on Ukraine and it's people for a moment of prayers, reflection, and support during Lent. (Yes, this is a heart felt nomination.)
St. Gertrude the Great.
Many years ago I picked up a book at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. The book was, Prayers of the Women Mystics. I have reread, underlined and cherished this book donated from the library of Pat Hall. There is a line in the book ascribed to St. Gertrude on page 48 which I love:
"Come, O God of my heart, gather together my scattered mental powers and fix them upon Thyself." Oh, may it be so.
May her understanding of my human condition be celebrated and lead her to the golden halo. Thank you St. Gertrude.
I nominate Thecla. The Acts of Paul and Thecla shows us a woman of strong conviction and a willingness to make her unapologetic commitment to follow the Way of Christ. She traveled with Paul teaching and preaching. Also, Thecla's story provides us with the only extant physical description of the Apostle Paul.
I would like to nominate Hildegard of Bingen. We of a certain age, menopausal women, need a Saint like Hildegard to win. She was multifaceted: a composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and a medical writer and practitioner. The patron saint of menopause fought for women's health.
Hildegard of Bingen, because of her sublime music, her sharp intellect, and her (to me) weirdly erotic spirituality.
St. Ladislaus/Laszlo is my suggestion. King and exemplar of a Christian knight. I'm trying to get Hungarian to win, but not many of us became saints. I thought Elizabeth of Hungary was a winner!
I would like to nominate Pauli Murray. An ordained Episcopal priest, social and political activist, who refused to move to the back of the bus years before Rosa Parks. She was strong
in the face of criticism and for doing the right thing in spite of consequences. A modern day saint.
I would like to nominate Catherine of Siena. She is a Doctor of the Church and venerated in Roman Catholicism. From her Wikipedia entry, she "was an Italian mystic and pious laywoman who engaged in papal and Italian politics through extensive letter-writing and advocacy." She was responsible for bringing the pope back to Rome from Avignon. She involved herself heavily in the politics of the day and became a peacemaker. I think that is something we can all take as a model in these times.
I nominate Fr. Damien (de Veuster) for his ministry to the lepers quarantined on Molokai in the 1800s. He embodies the essence of Christianity in caring for "the least of these". He sacrificed his own health in service to those who were ill and spurned by society. And advocated for them throughout his life.
I nominate Saint Monica because that is my mom’s name but there are less subjective reasons. She is the patron saint of parents with disappointing children which could be the only way to describe her son Augustine until he finally overcame his sex addiction and decided to get serious about piety and put his noodle to work on fleshing out some theology that had meat on it. Her prayers are attributed to have brought God’s blessing and self-control to her son.
I nominate St Bridgett (Birgitta) of Sweden because she is deserving
and my favorite mystery writers are Swedish.
I would like to nominate Martin Luther as a saint for the 2026 Lent Madness brackets consideration for The Golden Halo award. He started a church without even trying and through the years up to the present so many people are lutherans thanks to him. There is even a song about just this written by M. Bridges and G. Baum and recorded by “Lost and Found” in 2003 that is called “The Lutherans Song”. Just google it to hear them sing his praises.
Happy Nominationtide to all
I nominate Mary of Bethany. She was as true a disciple as Peter or Andrew and we know more about her than Simon or Jude (although still not much)!
Nominee: Egeria (late 4th century)
Author of the Peregrinatio; candidate on the first round ballot in Lent 2015. Her document, first discovered in the late 19th century, had an important influence on later liturgical reforms, especially the liturgy of Holy Week. An inspiring document to read even today.
P.S. This is my personal email.
I nominate Saint Agnes of Rome. She was martyred at age 12 or 13 for refusing to marry one of her numerous suitors, who then accused her of being a Christian. She is the patron saint of chastity, young girls and victims of rape. This is the third time I have nominated her. Please consider her -- she is very deserving.
I nominate for the Golden Halo Corrie Ten Boom a Dutch writer who became an archetype of forgiveness of the unforgivable as she forgave her Nazi guard. Her family played a key role in sheltering Jews during the European Holocaust
St. Benedict founded 12 communities of monks, and those communities grew far wider as the years went by. Today the Rule of St. Benedict crosses over many denominations and lives in the lives of those who have formed communities. Some of these communities gather people from other denominations and other churches without the need for them to change denomination or church.
Columbria
Michael McGivney is my nominee. Born in Waterbury CT, struggled to help support his parents and family. He felt God's call became a priest. His love of people lead him to become the founder of The Knights of Columbus. Threw his vision the Kof C has touched millions of people around the world to follow Christ.