👑 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”
GOOOOO CONSTANCE
I love you constance!
No doubt about it - Desmond Tutu is a saint.
But today I will vote for my fellow Religious.
I have to say that I am profoundly suspicious that in the past couple of hours, the results have gone from Tutu having twice as many votes as Constance & Co. to a virtual tie. This just does not happen!
Please, SEC and everybody, let's make sure this final round is completely fair, legal, and accurate!
Oh, whoa, I just checked the results, and they're way ahead--and it's only been an hour since I voted. I hope that's real--not so much because I'd like to see Constance win, but because it would be awful to see the vote compromised.
St. Mary's is a strong community, and we love and respect Constance and her Companions! We are all cheering her on and voting away 🙂
Wow! Go St. Mary's!
I am suspicious also. Voted for the Memphis caregivers, but this sudden surge is very odd.
Votes are monitored to make sure each round is fair. What you are noticing has been the consistent pattern of Memphis TN waking up to vote
Go Memphis! And thank you for your support
St. Mary's girls are cheering Constance and her Companions on for the win!
Proud of the St. Mary's Community for supporting our saint. And proud to be just a tiny part of Constance and her Companions' legacy here in Memphis and SMS.
So far so good. The Arch has earned a halo that we cannot bestow. But today the race should go to the steadfast keepers of the faith, the helpers, the saints of Memphis.
I love Constance and her companions! Thank you, sisters for all you did!
Sigh! I foresee a North American bias in this vote. I had never heard of Constance and her companions before, so I have learned something worthwhile, but compared to many of those already eliminated, I find it hard to see that they deserve the Golden Halo - sorry!
Then you are looking in the wrong place.
I am concerned that suddenly the vote has swayed so hugely from Desmond Tutu confidently in the lead, to Constance and her Companions now at 63%. It disappoints me that even in this lighthearted yearly event, there is potential suspicious activity. Not sour grapes here; both finalists are totally deserving of the Golden Halo. Let’s hope if Constance et al. win, it is with honest and legitimate votes. Happy Easter everyone.
Very likely the students (and faculty) of the schools she founded voting after arriving to school. I saw the flip around 10am.
Votes are monitored to ensure fair voting overall. What you are noticing has been the consistent pattern of Memphis TN waking up to vote
I felt lead to vote for the Martyrs of Memphis; Sister Constance, Sister Thecla, Sister Ruth, Sister Frances, the Rev. Charles Carroll Parsons, and the Rev. Louis S. Schuyler in every round. As it says in John 15:13: Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
We are mystified regarding the results. When I voted around 9 am (not sure exactly when) Archbishop Tutu was far, far ahead of Constance et al. When I returned, perhaps an hour later, suddenly Constance had leaped ahead by about 2000 votes. When my husband voted a bit later, they had a large lead even more. This doesn't compute. What is going on?
Constance and her Companions founded multiple schools in the Episcopal tradition, including one with a very engaged student body (and alumnae) in Memphis. I’d imagine the students cast their votes after arriving at school — explaining the late morning surge.
Reminds me of the 2020 national election, which also had a late surge, and was equally fair and honest
Votes are monitored by IP addresses. What you are noticing has been the consistent pattern of Memphis TN waking up to vote
Looks like in the final round, some folks realize that Desmond Tutu is *not* a saint. Good that the actual saints seem to be doing well thus far: Sister Contance, Sister Thecla, Sister Ruth, Sister Francis, the Rev. Charles Carroll Parsons and the Rev Louis S. Schuyler.
???
Aw, I am sad. I really wanted Tutu to win.
As Lent Madness 2026 draws to a close, I have been reflecting back over the season. We met 11 saints for the first time in Lent Madness; 11 of the saints were women. Many of the choices were difficult (including the final one!). I missed several things from previous years: the booklet (at the very least, make it available in pdf form so we can print it ourselves, if the logistics are too overwhelming to print and mail actual booklets -- but please, please, please consider making a printed booklet available in advance) and the limericks in the daily comments, just to name two.
To name 3, I miss "Oliver 8 years old." But that was a long time ago, wasn't it.
This was a tough decision! I've been Bishop Tutu the entire time. And then, such moving writing: say their names. I was reminded of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Fernadina, FL.and reconnected with their story: 1877 Fernandina hit with yellow fever. Most of the population left. The nuns, who moved here in 1871 to care and educate the slaves, stayed and cared for the sick. Two nuns died and two who contracted the disease survived. I say their names,"Angels of Mercy" along caregivers.
This was truly a hard choice. I tend to vote for those who cared for the needy but both of the contenders did that. I ended up going with Constance and her companions. But if Desmond Tutu were to prevail I would not be sad.
Thank you for Lent Madness. None of the match-ups were easy to decide and the final is no exception! This is such a fun and uplifting Lenten devotion. I'll be happy no matter who wins. If Constance and her companions win the Golden Halo(s), how will you fit them all on one mug?
How is it we have over 10,000 votes this year and only 6,000 last year for the Golden Halo? Both are totally worthy, by the way!
OMG SHES AHEAD
The quote from Desmond Tutu really speaks to our current situation as a nation and as a church.
Voted For the underdog, as I so often do, even knowing it won't really change anything, and then was amazed to discover that Constance and her companions are in the lead! My late husband always said that women tended to win the pair-ups!
PS I have a 2024 *Golden* halo mug for Julian of Norwich. She must have won silver in another year. By the way, can I nominate the Dalai Lama for next year's competition, or do the candidates have to be Christian?
Thank you for all the work you have done. I have followed the lent madness since the beginning. As a life long Episcopalian I’ve always found joy, a little confusion and usually a little peace in your daily challenges.
This year with the chaos of our world I have found education, peace and hope.
Thank you for all of that.
Cathy
It was so hard to decide this one, as always. I had the pleasure of going to a live presentation with Desmond Tutu years ago, and it was wonderful. He has been an inspiration to us all. However, in the end, i went with Constance and her Companions because these quiet saints who selflessly gave their lives in the service of others.
I'm looking at the final results of this year's Lent Madness and am mystified as to how there were almost twice as many votes cast in this final round than at in any other matchup. Any insights as to how this might be? Did Constance and her companions suddenly recruit thousands of supporters from the four corners of the Universe? Asking for a friend. 🙂
Apparently there are students and faculty at schools founded by her order. And possibly the entire population of Memphis TN.
I'm wondering why there hasn't been an announcement? Maybe they're still auditing the results.
Just making sure before I update our bulletin board - involves changing several things each day - Constance & her Companions won the Golden Halo? Yesterday was April 1st and the vote did an amazing flip halfway through the day and there hasn't been any announcement today so .... Want to save myself having to redo it if something weird happened.
This year’s Lent Madeness has been very disappointing. Left behind were those who had the largest impacts on the Christian Church; Peter, Luther, Benedict.
This email says that votes are no longer accepted. Then why send it out? I thought today was the day we voted for the final saint. Obviously I was wrong. Maybe none of my votes were counted as I usually vote in the afternoon. Oh well.