🚨 SPECIAL GUEST PICKER ALERT 🚨
Apparently this matchup was just too saintly for us to handle alone… so we called in reinforcements 😅

Today’s Lent Madness episode features a celebrity guest picker none other than the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Anthony Poggo! 🙌 A huge thanks to the good bishop for dropping in and lending some holy wisdom to the madness.

And what a showdown he stepped into…
🔥 The Archbishop who stood fearlessly against Idi Amin
vs.
🔥 The priest who walked straight into a leper colony

It’s Janani Luwum vs. Damien of Molokai, courage meets courage, sacrifice meets sacrifice. No easy votes here, folks.

Meanwhile, yesterday gave us another heart-stopper: Joan of Arc pulls off her SECOND buzzer-beater of Lent Madness, advancing 53.20% to 46.80% 😱⚔️

Who joins Joan in the next round?
That part’s up to you… 🗳️

Janani Luwum

When Janani Luwum converted to Christianity, he stated, “I am ready to die in the army of Jesus.” These words came to fruition years later when he was brutally murdered by the Idi Amin regime.

Known as the “first martyr of the second century of the Church of Uganda,” Luwum showed natural leadership from childhood. He was a gifted negotiator, often settling disputes amongst different groups, yet remained humble and preferred serving under others rather than seeking prominence. Even as a young convert, when imprisoned for speaking out against immorality, he continued preaching the gospel, praying for fellow prisoners, and reminding them they were loved by both God and man.

As he rose through the Anglican Church, Luwum became known for his warmth, fairness, and extraordinary ability to reconcile divided people. He worked tirelessly to strengthen relationships between Anglicans, Catholics, Muslims, and Uganda’s tribes. He helped establish clinics and housing for lepers, promoted Christian farming initiatives for struggling communities, and often said, “I do not want to be the Archbishop of a dead church, but of a live one.”

His greatest test came under Amin’s dictatorship—a regime remembered for silencing opponents, widespread killings and disappearances, deportations, accusations of cannibalism, and horrific sexual crimes. While many feared speaking, Luwum confronted injustice directly, with compassion. He signed letters opposing government violence, met with Amin, trying repeatedly to persuade him toward reason. Some accused Luwum of being too soft on Amin, but Luwum answered, “Even the president needs friends. We must love the president. We must pray for him. He is also a child of God.”

Luwum continued to meet with Uganda’s dangerous dictator, preach the gospel and counsel wisely. Weeks later, soldiers broke into Luwum’s home to search it for weapons to stage a civil war against Amin. Luwum grabbed his Bible, raised it and declared it was the only weapon he possessed.

At his final meeting with Amin on February 16, 1977, false accusations were read aloud accusing Luwum of staging a coup. He whispered to the person next to him, “They are going to kill me. I am not afraid.” Moments later he was taken away, tortured, shot twice in the chest and once in the mouth. The military staged it as a car accident, but few believed the lie.

Luwum truly exemplifies this year’s Lent Madness theme as a Bridge Builder and Community Maker. He is remembered for his contagious smile, scrupulous fairness, and determination to love people into the kingdom. His witness is a bold reminder of what it means to follow Christ in a violent world—to defend the vulnerable, care for every human being, boldly proclaim the gospel, and confront injustice in a broken world.

— Sara Kay Hill

Damien of Hawai'i

If you google “Father Damien,” you’ll find an interesting Reddit thread titled “A Statue of Father Damien.” The thread begins with a 2020 Instagram post by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The lengthy caption encourages the reader to consider the impact of colonialism on modern history. While Ocasio-Cortez’s comments don’t criticize him directly, the implication that Father Damien may not be an unblemished hero is certainly not new.

While living on Molokai, Father Damien lobbied for those in his care. Heralded as a living saint, Damien was famous in his own time, agitating his superiors with his stubbornness. Damien utilized every opportunity to advocate for the incredibly limited resources, illustrating the bleak reality for the lepers. His critics interpreted these impassioned pleas as over-dramatizations designed to manipulate. Damien’s people were so desperate for any assistance, he was known to redistribute donations he received regardless of the recipient’s denomination. His superiors would attempt to intercede, but Father Damien felt that need alone was the paramount importance. He continually ignored requests to lead more traditionally, jeopardizing his vow of obedience. He would continue his unwavering support of the colony until his death in 1889.

After his death, detractors hoped his fame would quiet, but to no avail. In being so openly critical of him, they unwittingly launched him into stardom. His death was heavily publicized and sparked greater donations to the leper fund. Canonization was an immediate topic of discussion. In response, his critics expressed total opposition. In 1889, Reverend Doctor Charles Hyde wrote that he was “surprised at the extravagant newspaper laudations” of Damien “as if he was a most saintly philanthropist.” His letter continues, “The simple truth is, he was a coarse, dirty man, headstrong and bigoted.”

Local clergy who knew him to be obstinate agreed with this characterization, but his supporters were overwhelming. In 1890, Robert Louis Stevenson printed a thirty-page rebuttal of Hyde’s condemnation. Stevenson had traveled to Molokai and interviewed Damien’s associates. Stevenson found they “build up the image of a man, with all his weaknesses, essentially heroic, and alive with rugged honesty, generosity, and mirth.” In his work, Stevenson argues that Damien was a holy figure subjected to human foibles. The response to his work was immediate and resounding. Stevenson’s impassioned defense set about an outpouring of charity from around the world in Damien’s memory.  In his writing, Robert Louis Stevenson says, “Damien is dead and already somewhat ungratefully remembered in the field of his labours and sufferings.” Hopefully through considering Damien, a man flawed and heroic, we can better understand his passion for the betterment of his community.

— Tori Proctor