👑 The Golden Halo matchup is here 👑
And to celebrate, join us today at 12pm EST on Facebook Live as we meet some of our bloggers, connect with friends of Forward Movement, and celebrate all things Lent Madness 2026! 🎥
On behalf of Fr. Christian and me, thank you for an incredible season of fun, faith, and fellowship. Together we have lifted up community makers and bridge builders, and hopefully become a little more like them along the way. This has truly been a labor of love, and we are so grateful for all of you 🙏
But before we celebrate… we still have a Golden Halo to award ✨
Will it be St. Mary’s champions, Constance and her companions
or
The Arch himself, Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Two incredible witnesses. One final vote! As always, it is up to you. Pray about it, join us live, and VOTE 🗳️
We’ll see you on Facebook live today, this summer for 2027 Saint nominations, & in November for All Bracketstide!!!💜
Desmond Tutu
“Dear Child of God, I write these words because we all experience sadness, we all come at times to despair, and we all lose hope that the suffering in our lives and in the world will ever end. I want to share with you my faith and my understanding that this suffering can be transformed and redeemed. There is no such thing as a totally hopeless case. Our God is an expert at dealing with chaos, with brokenness, with all the worst that we can imagine. God created order out of disorder, cosmos out of chaos, and God can do so always, can do so now--in our personal lives and in our lives as nations, globally. ... Indeed, God is transforming the world now--through us--because God loves us.”
― Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time
— Emily Kiel
Constance and her Companions
We give you thanks and praise, O God of compassion, for the heroic witness of the Martyrs of Memphis, who, in a time of plague and pestilence, were steadfast in their care for the sick and dying, and loved not their own lives, even unto death.
Remember their names: Sister Constance, Sister Thecla, Sister Ruth, Sister Frances, the Rev. Charles Carroll Parsons, and the Rev. Louis S. Schuyler.
— Neva Rae Fox
89 comments on “For the Golden Halo: Desmond Tutu vs. Constance and her Companions”
Yes: Remember their names: Sister Constance, Sister Thecla, Sister Ruth, Sister Frances, the Rev. Charles Carroll Parsons, and the Rev. Louis S. Schuyler. Constance and Her Companions for The Golden Halo!
I say co-halos for both!
there was a silver halo a few years back
2015, Brigid was "bested" by St. Francis. I purchased (and still have) the beer glass with Brigid's image.
Another year Julian of Norwich won the Silver Halo. I have her soup bowl.
Oh what a close battle - but then the one for the Golden Halo always makes me wonder if I can vote for both. Will there be a Silver Halo this year?
Archbishop Tutu's writings and his lived experience transformed my life: the way I see God in the world, and the joy I find in ordinary things. My hope of forgiveness and peace.
At the beginning, I whispered "Tutu for the Golden Halo. And here we are.
“I want to share with you my faith and my understanding that this suffering can be transformed and redeemed. There is no such thing as a totally hopeless case. Our God is an expert at dealing with chaos, with brokenness, with all the worst that we can imagine.”
Thankful for Desmond Tutu’s witness, he gets my vote for the Golden Halo
Desmond Tutu is a true saint. And, I have no doubt he would want Constance to win and that he’ll have many chances for the golden halo again; let’s give Constance and friends their year, I beg you! For the martyrs!!!
I have been for Tutu since the beginning of the Madness. I am saying Tutu for the win. Constance and her companions are deserving but Tutu influenced so many people. He is a Golden Halo for sure.
The prayer by Archbishop Desmond Tutu strengthened me but also made me cry. Cast my vote for him. I cannot believe it's over though! I enjoy this Lent Madness so much.
same with me
Women were circumscribed in what they could do. This remains a reality for the overwhelming majority of women world-wide, including much of the USA and Episcopal Province's outside the USA. Yes, that was and is also true of Black people. Both Constance and Archbishop Tutu transgressed those boundaries, and we are the beneficiaries of their courage and wisdom. While the Archbishop looms large in my life and remains an icon of Christ for me, I leaped for the chance to support Sister Constance and her Companions. It took several such pestilence nightmares and a couple of wars for nursing to be accepted as an honorable profession. That alone has changed culture and the possibility of wellbeing for billions. I honor the brave nurses who bring compassion into the nightmares of humanity.
For my little, late sister Mary, a nurse practitioner who spent her life caring for people with AIDS in inner city Baltimore, my vote is for Constance and her companions.
I once met an angel at St. Mary’s convent in Sewanee, and twice met Desmond Tutu face to face in Atlanta. Powerful experiences. With his friend the Dalaï Lama, Tutu is/was one of the holiest men on the planet, steadfast and joyful in his faith. I deeply admire the Memphis Martyrs, but today I vote for Saint Desmond Tutu.
Gotta vote for Constance today for representing women through the bracket that didn’t bust but thank you for the prayer from Arch Bishop Tutu. Neva Rae is my favorite bloggers, she should get a crown as well.
With great admiration for their compassion and care for the sick and dying at a time of great need, I wish it could be Constance and her Comanions for me today. Desmond Tutu, though, spent all his adult life fighting against an oppressive regime using only non-violent weapons - his own deep faith and the teachings of Jesus Christ, whom he served. Tutu embodied God's love and compassion, and gave all non-Afrikaner South Africans hope during a dark time. Desmond Tutu spent his whole life working for the betterment of all, a beacon of joy in a joyless place. He deserves the Golden Halo because he set an example for the world, not just one corner of it.
Constance forever! For the firefighters of 9/11, the traveling nurses of COVID, and all those who run in while others are running out!
Desmond Tutu’s faith and work of justice and reconciliation are inspiring and have changed our world for the better. I admire him so much. But his ministry is also well known and celebrated. And he is very worthy of a Golden Halo.
For today, I am voting for Constance and her companions to amplify their names and legacy:
Sister Constance, Sister Thecla, Sister Ruth, Sister Frances, the Rev. Charles Carroll Parsons, and the Rev. Louis S. Schuyler.
As we see efforts to erase the contributions and history of women, Black Americans, and others advance here in the US, it feels important to recognize them in this moment. As we see public health and empathy being devalued, it feels important to recognize them in this moment.
My favorite coffee mug is the Silver Halo mug produced for Julian of Norwich, when she didn't win. Desmond Tutu is wonderful, and another year, I'd vote for him. If he wins, can we have a Silver Halo mug for Constance and Her Companions? They exemplify greater love: people who willingly lay down their lives for others- health care providers during times of plague, first responders of all kinds who rush toward danger for our sake: everyday saints.
Yes, Please! A Silver Halo mug would be awesome to celebrate Constance and Her Companions if they don't win.
I also treasure my Silver Halo Julian of Norwich mug, and I also would love to see a Silver Halo mug for whoever comes in second today.
I join the requests for a Silver Halo for Constance, Thecla, Ruth, Frances, Charles, and Louis.
my silver halo mug was lost as a result of the Eaton Fire, along with the Desmond Tutu window in our church. hoping for a silver halo again
I want them to have a Silver Halo mug, too! I mean, they beat out Martin Luther AND St. Peter to get to the top!
I think we need a Silver Halo mug for the Archbishop! Who knew?
They are both so worthy of this honor, but I have to go with Desmond Tutu for the Golden Halo. He truly is one of the nicest and most spiritual persons I have ever been fortunate to meet and talk with in my lifetime.
Both "contestants" deserve the halo.
John 15:13.
Constance and her companions.
Looks like Desmond will win the Golden Halo! It warms me because Desmond is the first saint in Lent Madness that I heard preach in person.
Yes, I heard him preach in Edinburgh at the Church of Scotland General Assembly. I have watched it over several times - so inspiring
Pilgrims! We arrive at Canterbury today! Time to celebrate. And I love a tutu: tulle, satin, sequins. The Black Swan’s tutu actually has purple layers to deepen the eye’s sense of depth and richness in the “black.” That’s us: inclusion enriches our body of believers. So for tu tu, hypocrite lecteur! mon frère! (thanks, Baudelaire) I wish you a blessed Triduum and a joyous Eastertide. Let’s all go out (as able) and help the world. Thank you to all the amazing bloggers for accompanying us on this very special virtual ride to Canterbury. Big wave to all the saints who are our great cloud of witnesses.
Our priest's given name is Constance, although we call her Connie. I must vote for Constance today to honor our priest who celebrated her 20th anniversary on 3/24/2026, at St. George's Episcopal, Glenn Dale MD, as our Rector, guide, teacher and friend!
I admire Desmond Tutu deeply, but I am voting for Constance, Thecla, Ruth, Frances, Charles, and Louis. Sometimes the greater good is in the small acts of courage, and the reward is impossible to see. Bishop Tutu served with courage and wisdom, and he won his battles on earth. He has been rewarded with fame, adulation, and respect all over the earth. We all love him. But until Lent 2026 we did not even know the names of the Martyrs of Memphis.
Constance. Thecla. Ruth. Frances. Charles. Louis. They are heroes too, even though nobody every bought their book or asked for their autographs.
Thank you all for another magical Lent Madness!
Lent Madness continues to get better and better as time goes on. This year's match-ups were some of the toughest yet, as it should be! Thanks to the SEC, the past SEC, and all the celebrity bloggers (who have absolutely outdone themselves this year. A blessed triduum to all!
I was ordained deacon on Sept 9, the commemoration of Constance and her companions, and started my current rectorate just before COVID. So even though I’ve met The Arch in person and know he is a saint, I have to vote for the underdog women. And this is the final matchup I predicted in my bracket.
This was the hardest choice. I was torn -- but finally decided that those wonderful nuns who basically gave up their lives for the residents of Memphis during the yellow fever plague had to take the crown. I hope next year the marvelous Tutu comes back so I can vote for him.
I want to THANK you 2 So much for the gift you gave all of us this Lenten season--You were & Are Great!!! (& not burned out 'cause you're already thinking of 27!! 🙂
Bless you for all you've done & DO & big thanks to your bloggers & all the team!
And just like that we are at Holy Week! Thank you once again for this journey. I have followed you for many years. I always get excited when Ash Wednesday is in February because it always means Lent Madness starts soon! I appreciate all the hard work the celebrity bloggers do introducing us to new Saints. God bless you all.
I thoroughly enjoyed this year's Lent Madness!!!
It was quite gruelling at times, but I learnt even more about these wonderful 'people of God.'
Thanks to ALL of the contributors, the researchers, and a very special thanks to Father Sadav? and Father Christian for their brilliant work!
sorry, Connie, had to go with the Arch. the prayer about nothing being hopeless really touched me
Yearning for the transformation and redemption of suffering that Desmond Tutu so passionately believed in, my vote goes to him.
But I am delighted to have renewed my acquaintance with Constance and her companions from a previous Lent Madness. I will remember their names: Sister Constance, Sister Thecla, Sister Ruth, Sister Frances, the Rev. Charles Carroll Parsons, and the Rev. Louis S. Schuyler.
The first day I saw this year’s bracket, I picked Desmond Tutu for the Golden Halo. And everything I have read about him in the course of Lent Madness 2026 has only confirmed that for me. A man who was committed to the struggle for justice. And then when unimaginable success met that struggle, who stood for reconciliation rather than retribution. Many people who have had the pleasure of meeting him have reported in the comments what a man of joy he was, his laughter and his smiles. Desmond Tutu for the Golden Halo.
I, too, knew from the beginning that he'd win! I ended up voting for Constance today, but I am definitely celebrating, no matter what!
In these politically fraught times for his witness in a somewhat similar time, the Arch gets my vote.
I'm voting for Constance, Thecla, Frances, Ruth, Charles, and Louis today--along with their surviving companions, Hughetta and George, who deserve the same recognition. Thanks to Lent Madness this year, I can now name them from memory! I know they're not likely to win, and that's all right. Ordering my Archbishop Tutu mug ASAP--he can keep Julian of Norwich company on the shelf.
I will, however, reiterate a comment I made a couple weeks ago, late at night: that Constance and her Companions were the human embodiment of that beautiful Collect sung at Evensong:
"Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen."