177 comments on “Happy Nominationtide!”

1. I nominate Saint Rocco (Roch). He was born in Montpellier, France in the 14th century. After losing his parents, Rocco renounced his wealth and dedicated his life to the poor and the sick, particularly during the plague outbreaks in Italy. He is often depicted with a dog, which is said to have brought him food while he was ill. Rocco is revered in Italy for his compassion for the sick and his miraculous healing powers. He is the patron of the sick, especially from pestilence, and of dogs. His feast days are August 16, and also September 9. San Roch is also the name of a football club in Scotland. My grandfather, born in Italy, was named for San Rocco.

2. When I was a boy living north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada we had a school field trip to St Marie the Hurons, a shrine dedicated to the priests who came to bring the gospel to the native people of the area. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-Marie_among_the_Hurons These men traveled to New France and lived with the Mohawks, Hurons, and Iroquois to spread the word of God. They learned their languages and taught them about Jesus. Many of these people came to believe and were baptized. Eight of the priests suffered for Christ between 1642 and 1649 and were martyred. Two of the leading priests were Jean de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues. When I learned that several of the priests had been tortured but would not renounce their faith, I wondered if I would have their strength. Hopefully I will never be a position to find out.

   I thus nominate Jean de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, and Their Companions. They are commemorated on October 19 in the Anglican Church of Canada (see the entry in https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/ForAlltheSaints.pdf). "By their faithfulness Brébeuf, Jogues, and their six companions won a victory that is as vast as God’s mercy. For their victory was in the cross of Christ, whose love for the Huron and Iroquois peoples was the reason they gave up their lives." (from the entry on page 312 of https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/ForAlltheSaints.pdf)

3. I nominate St. Jerome. He is the patron saint of librarians, translators, and encyclopedists. In this time of artificial intelligence, he upholds the standard of thousands of people who have faithfully assisted those seeking greater knowledge.

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4. I would like to nominate St Porphyrius of Gaza. St Porphyrius is said to have built the church named for him in Gaza around 400 CE, making it one of the oldest churches in the world. St Porphyrius became the first bishop of Gaza and ministered to a small community of Christians facing extreme violence. He is associated with supporting young children and child birth, and also supported a young woman who chose a life of prayer and devotion rather than marriage, made possible by providing financial support to her grandmother and aunt to enable them to lead an independent and dignified life.

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5. I'd like to nominate St. Columba. He did many things: from bringing Christianity to Scotland and spreading it from his monastery there across northern Europe, he was a poet, a great lover of books and illumination and sent the Loch Ness monster forever to the deep. Aside from all of these, I've been trying to get my parish, St. Columba's in DC to get hooked on Lent Madness to no avail. Perhaps if St. Columba is in the mix I'll have more footing! Thanks!

6. I nominate the Martyrs of Lubeck, guillotined together within a few minutes by the Gestapo in Hamburg Germany 10 November 1943. They are Lutheran Pastor Karl Friedrich Stellbrink and Roman Catholic priests Johannes Prassek, Eduard Muller, and Hermann Lange.

   More information and links to other relevant sites can be found on Wikipedia

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7. St Christopher, ignobly demoted and disregarded by our Roman neighbours, should (once again, I suspect, be reconsidered). After all, any saint that comes in iconic form with a dog's head must surely be considered by everyone but followers of Bastet.

8. Pope Francis
   Few figures in recent memory have embodied the Gospel as radically and tenderly as Pope Francis. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he served not only as the 266th Bishop of Rome but as a global shepherd of mercy, humility, and prophetic courage. He reminded us again and again that “each person is a mission on this earth”—and lived those words in how he welcomed the poor, challenged the powerful, and called all of us to rediscover its heart in service and compassion. From washing the feet of prisoners to writing encyclicals on climate justice, he practiced a Christianity that was disarmingly simple and deeply rooted in love. In a world hungry for hope, Pope Francis was a steady, human, Spirit-filled presence. He may have only recently entered eternal life and he may not be on any formal list, but already, he wears the Golden Halo in the hearts of many. A saint not because he was perfect, but because he pointed us constantly toward the One who is.

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9. Sr. Thea Bowman was a joyful thunderclap in the Church—prophetic, poetic, and unapologetically Black, Catholic, and bold. Born in Mississippi in 1937 and raised in the Methodist tradition, she converted to Catholicism as a child and later became the first—and only—African American member of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. A scholar, teacher, preacher, and singer, she broke barriers across the Church, calling for racial justice, inclusion, and a spirituality rooted in culture and liberation. She famously sang her way through her testimony to the U.S. bishops in 1989, just months before dying of cancer—delivering truth with grace and calling the Church to become truly Catholic: a Church of many voices, united in love. “I want to live until I die,” she once said. And she did—fiercely and faithfully. If the saints are the ones who wake us up to God’s dream for the world, Sr. Thea belongs right at the heart of this awakening. She is one of 6 African Americans being called to sainthood.

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10. Thomas Cranmer who gave us the BCP and its many blessings. I believe the first copy was 1549. Yes, he had his moments of trying to survive Bloody Mary, but it the end he was a martyr for his beliefs and faith. We can’t even estimate the number of Christians who have found solace and prayers in the BCP. I have friends who rely on it even though they are Baptists. It is a treasure we take for granted.

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11. I nominate St. Aidan of Lindisfarne for his gentle way of bringing Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons, basically by example with love. He also founded Lindisfarne that became such an important central point of spreading the Gospel. He was brave enough and respectful to take the word to the "unruly" pagans.

12. Herman of Alaska
    Monastic priest sent by Russian Orthodox church to take the Gospel to natives of Alaska. Traveled 8000 miles in 1794 to reach Kodiak Island. Gentle, compassionate, converted by loving example. Much loved. Finally lived as a hermit but sought out for healing and spiritual guidance. Pilgrimages still made to his island by Orthodox youth.

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13. The Carmelites of Compiegne. The 16 Carmelite Nuns were martyred in Paris on July 17, 1794 during the Great Reign of Terror. Their story is memorialized in the opera, Dialogues of the Carmelites by
    Francis Poulenc. There are some fanciful parts of the opera which are not historical. They were the first martyrs of the French Revolution to be beatified by Pius X in 1906 and canonized by Francis I in 2022.

14. Is Mr Rogers on any church calendar? We need more people like him

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15. I would like to nominate Pauli Murray. A lawyer and priest of the Episcopal church, the first non-gender-specific Black woman priest of our church. She was at the forefront of the march for women's rights in the 60's and equality for all, and a friend of Eleanor Roosevelt. The Pauli Murray Center has just lost its funding due to government DEI strictures. She needs to be better-known and lauded for her work and her faith.

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16. I would like to nominate Fred Rogers. He was a saint for children and a model for those who would choose kindness, generosity, and love as the way to live.

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17. Carlo Acutis, recently canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. While suffering from leukemia, he used the relatively new internet as his platform for bringing people to Christ, and created a website detailing the lives of many saints. He has been named a patron of young people.

18. San Cayetano

    In these tough economic times, the patron saint of the unemployed is needed now more than ever. As the patron saint of luck his victory is practically guaranteed

19. I nominate Thomas Clarkson, who was key in the UK abolitionists' effort to ban first the slave trade and then slavery altogether in the British Empire. Clarkson was an ordained deacon who had an almost literal "road to Damascus" moment that convinced him to devote his life to the abolitionist cause. Complementing this most serious work are some seriously fun facts: Jane Austen praised his writing, Wordsworth wrote an ode in his honor, and he appears on a British postage stamp (kitsch alert!). Clarkson is honored in the Church of England on July 30, a commemoration he shares with his better-known associate, William Wilberforce, and a third individual. I'd be happy to write any of the Lent Madness materials and/or to help with the research.

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20. My nomination is the Cornish tin miner and evangelist, Billy Bray. Born into poverty in 1794 and raised in a Christian home, Billy went into the mines and lived a life of drunkenness and violence. An eventual awareness of God brought him an awakening and for the next forty years-built chapels, praised God at every opportunity, and brought the word of God to people of Cornwall.

    Two quotes can summarize Billy the man. The first is a phrase he frequently used about praying: 'I must talk to Father about that.' The second is a defense of his exuberance: 'Well, I dance sometimes. Why shouldn't I dance as well as David? David, you say, was a king; well, bless the Lord! I am a King's Son! I have as good a right to dance as David had.'

21. I would like to nominate St.Eulalia. A worthy entrant.

22. I nominate Priscilla, the woman who along with her husband Aquila were described by the Apostle Paul as “fellow workers in Christ Jesus “Like Paul, they worked as tent makers/ leather repair workers. She is often thought to be the first female preacher and teacher, even a presbyter. She may have written the Letter to the Hebrews.

23. I nominate Saint Kundegunda. Her feast day in the Catholic Church is July 22. Daugther of a king, she was married to the king of Poland at age 16. Upon her husband's death, she joined the order of poor Clare. Today's culture focuses on wealth and societal prestige. I think St Kundegunda is a good role model for what is truly important.

    https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=194

24. I would love to nominate Saint Oscar Romero for Lent Madness. He courageously stood for justice and the dignity of all people, especially the Salvadorian poor and oppressed, in a time of great violence and fear. As a Latina of Salvadorian descent, seeing Saint Romero honored in The Episcopal Church fills me with deep pride and connection. His witness is urgently relevant today, as our country continues to grapple with injustice, division, and the silencing of marginalized voices.

25. Melania the Elder! By far my favorite saint. She spent her entire life divesting herself of her family's vast estate, as she was born into potentially the wealthiest family in the Roman Empire at the time. Later in life, she even convinced her granddaughter (Melania the Younger) and her husband to leave their power and prestige, and to join her in monastic life. She and her pal Rufinus formed monasteries across the Holy Land, particularly on the Mount of Olives, for the sake of women and orphans and travelers. She was one of the most well-read theologians of her day. In fact, once when she was being arrested for dressing as a man and serving bishops sent into exile, the solider asked what a woman was doing with so many books. Her response: "When dealing with idiots, one must be as wise as a hawk." She may have liked Origen a bit too much for some, but she was extremely well-versed in every facet of biblical and theological reflection and was the "canon theologian" advising many bishops as they defined the teachings of the Church. The Church would not be what it is today without her hand, voice, and devotion, and I think that certainly makes her worthy to be included in Lent Madness.

26. I nominate Matt Talbot, the worker saint of Dublin, Ireland (1856-1925). The Roman Catholic church recognizes him as Venerable, a step on the way to canonization, and his feast day is June 19th. Often considered the patron saint of alcoholics, Matt grew up in the Dublin slums, with an alcoholic father and brothers. (Dubliners seem to have an especial affection for him, as one of the bridges over the Liffey, near a statue of Matt, is named the Talbot Memorial Bridge.) By his late twenties, he had been an alcoholic for almost fifteen years, and even his own mother thought he was hopeless. One day, hanging around the pubs and trying to cadge a drink, he experienced a deep conversion, and though he still struggled for some years, from that day he never drank again. He lived a radically simple life of prayer, generosity to the poor, and quiet kindness and compassion. He worked in a lumber yard most of his life, and gave away most of his earnings to those poorer than himself. A grade school dropout, he taught himself to read so he could study the Bible and study the lives of the saints, some of whom he chose as models for his own life. There are so many stories of his radical generosity, kindness, quiet humor, love of children, and compassion for those addicted to alcohol. There seems to be a misconception that he was some sort of killjoy temperance lecturer, which from everything I've read I do not believe is accurate. He didn't think drinking was wrong in itself and didn't campaign against it, but focused on using what we would now call his recovery as a pathway to his relationship with God. I nominate him because I admire and love him, but also because I think it is tremendously important that people know his story, still so relevant today. Matt reminds us that there is no addict who is ever hopeless or beyond the reach of God’s grace, and that even the most humble, ordinary person may still pursue holiness and do beautiful things for God. I especially wanted to nominate him this year, as June 7, 2025 was the centennial of his death. For the curious, Mary Purcell’s Matt Talbot and His Times is a good introduction.

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27. I nominate Pauli Murray. In our current political climate I feel she is the perfect person to counteract the things that are happening now. Her life and work
    demonstrates that barriers to inclusion can be overcome. Her contributions to society have truly been a blessing to all. DEI is not a detriment. It not only strengthens society, but contributes to the benefit of all.

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28. I would like to nominate Martin Luther King Jr. His work for freedom and equality for all continues today. His legacy of fighting for justice and economic liberation is often overlooked. Workers’ rights was also important for him as well.

29. I would like to nominate Jose Sanchez del Rio. I came across him at the LA Cathedral, where there is a shrine to him. I was so taken by his story, and the story of the Cristeros, who fought against the Mexican government pushing secularization. He joined the Cristeros as a young teenager, and was captured by the government. His feet were cut, and he was forced to walk to his grave. He was told that his life would be spared if he denounced God by shouting Death to Christ the King. He refused and walked to his grave on bloody feet shouting "Viva Cristo Rey!"

30. I nominate Martin Luther. He is in the Lutheran Church's Calendar of Saints. (Full communion with the Episcopal Church!) Not only is he the father of the Protestant Reformation, but he had an interesting theology of saints. Christians, he wrote, are "simultaneously saints and sinners," since a saint is a forgiven sinner. He spoke of a sainthood of all the believers rather than a hierarchy of saints interceding for humans with God. I think Luther embodied the saintly qualities of courage and a strong commitment to his beliefs.