Nominations for next year’s saints are currently being accepted from the floor! And the ceiling and the undercroft and the slate roof and any other part of the church that might be susceptible to a touch of deferred maintenance.
As always, we seek to put together a balanced bracket of saints ancient and modern, Biblical and ecclesiastical representing the breadth and diversity of God’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. In other words, kindly submit your nominations to the Supreme Executive Committee but don’t throw a hissy fit if he/she is not accepted this year. There’s always Lent Madness 2014 or Lent Madness 2029.
This year’s bracket was formed with input from the Celebrity Bloggers and a Ouija Board (with the Holy Spirit hanging around behind the scenes). But for next year we decided to open the nominations to everybody. Don’t worry, the SEC is not suddenly becoming a democratic institution — the only time democracy rears its ugly head in Lent Madness is during the actual voting. Still, there may well be saints we didn’t think of (hard to fathom) or a particular pairing that is worthy of the madness.
We’re also considering two or three pre-Lenten play-in match-ups to keep things interesting and whet everyone’s voting whistle in the waning days of the Season after the Epiphany.
As you discern saints to nominate, please keep in mind that a number of saints are ineligible for next year’s “saintly smack down.” This includes the entire field of Lent Madness 2012 and those saints who made it to the Round of the Elate Eight in 2010 and 2011. Here is a comprehensive list of ineligible saints. Please keep this in mind as you submit your nominations.
The field from 2012:
Joan of Arc
Lancelot Andrewes
Mary Magdalene
Augustine of Hippo
Monnica
Evelyn Underhill
Nicholas
Margaret of Scotland
William Temple
James Lloyd Breck
John Cassian
Thomas the Apostle
Enmegahbowh
David Oakerhater
Martin of Porres
Thomas Cranmer
William Law
Columba
Catherine of Siena
Emma of Hawaii
Paul of Tarsus
Theodore of Tarsus
Rose of Lima
Brigid of Kildare
James the Apostle
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Thomas Merton
Philander Chase
Jerome
John Patteson
From 2010 & 2011:
Aelred
Francis of Assisi
Julian of Norwich
Peter
Theresa of Avila
Hildegard of Bingen
George Herbert
John Chrysostom
Polycarp
C.S. Lewis
Clare of Assisi
William Tyndale
Thomas Beckett
Constance
Perpetua
Vincent of Saragossa
I nominate one who, like Julian of Norwich, hasn’t been canonized: the Rev. Fred “Mister” Rogers, who lived his faith by reflecting his Creator’s creativity through serving young chikdren and their families. Want details? I’ve got ’em!
I nominate Lioba–I don’t know much about her but think her observed date is September 8th, year unknown.
I second Mr Rogers!!
Please forward this to the committee. I nominate Saint Sebastian (died c. 268) was a Christian saint and martyr, who is said to have been killed during the Roman emperor Diocletian’s persecution of Christians. He is commonly depicted in art and literature tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows. This is the most common artistic depiction of Sebastian; however, he was rescued and healed by Irene of Rome before criticising the emperor and being clubbed to death.[1] He is venerated in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches
YESSSS!
Go Mr Rogers!
I am Thoroughly Embarassed that I didn’t think of Fred Rogers myself.
My childhood was not what one would call a “dance around the maypole”….when I came home from school feeling lower than the dust of several kings past, Mr. Rogers ALWAYS made me feel better with the simple yet powerful words that people can like you “just the way you are.” the timelessness of this message is just as, no more important today than ever. I will miss this man to the day I die. The morning I learned of his passing, I spent the day at work wiping away tears. I am choking up as I type this.
We Love You, Fred Rogers. This world is a poorer place without you.
Madeleine Borthwick
Count one more for Fred Rogers.
I am wanting to nominate St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Not fair!! I totally agree that this years entrants should not be eligible for another go. But the ones from years when we didn’t even know there was a Lent Madness?!?!?
Sure you found some tacky pitch for some of your saints, but how can that measure up to what’s available for Clare of Assisi, Patron (matron?) Saint of Television?
http://www.amazon.com/St-Clare-Patron-Saint-Television/dp/B000GPYIIE/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1334529450&sr=8-6
Hey, what’s with the spell check: that was “kitch” not “pitch”
I nominate Shenoute of Atripe, a hardcore monk who ran a monastic federation in Egypt and fought demons with his bare hands. That’s right! Shenoute also managed a convent full of unruly nuns (at least, unruly by his standards) and, at least in his hagiography, got to have personal audiences with Jesus Christ. The late Coptic Pope Shenouda III was named after him. Clearly, he is a worthy competitor.
I nominate Oscar Romero.
I second this nomination. Although this year I tended to vote for earlier rather than later historical figures (and thus lost most rounds! 🙂 Oscar Romero would be a great addition to the lineup.
I also love the idea of Fred Rogers.
I sent that first one too fast how about a match up between St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and Mother Frances Cabrini (pioneering women of the faith as our country first formed) Another one is Kateri Tekakwitha vs. Katherine Drexel (American women who tried to break socio-cultural boundaries for the faith).
I agree with Rejane’s choices!! St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Mother Frances Cabrini, Kateri Tekakwitha and Katherine Drexel. Four awesome choices!
I nominate St Louis, Louis IX of France. Managed to be a king and saint. Said by some to have created accountants because he did not trust his officials to abuse their power. He has a home team in the US!
I nominate Damien of Molokai. He ministered to the least of our brethren, the leper outcasts, unto his death.
I also nominate Richard Benson, founder of SSJE, who brought the religious life back to Anglican Church and if you nominate him I am sure the Friends of SSJE will root for him.
Agreed. Benson would be a great addition.
I nominate St. Elizabeth of Hungary. I had never heard of her until I moved to a small town in north Georgia and began attending a church named for her. Pretty impressive lady!
I’m here to second that nomination of Elizabeth of Hungary! She’s been my patron saint since childhood. I have always loved her example of serving the poor even though she was royalty…and the story with the roses – beautiful 🙂
She is an awesome! lady! I’d vote for her!
Hannah More. You need to get those Kenyon people all excited again.
I nominate Jonathan M. Daniels, seminarian and martyr of the Civil Rights movement. He exemplified and demonstrated the courage and commitment we should all have when faced with a great moral wrong.
Jonathan Myrick Daniels. We learned about him at our old parish in Keene, NH… a wonderful martyr and activist.
Søren Kierkegaard. Actually commemorated on the Episcopal calendar. I love this church!!!
Nominating John Calvin for those of us of the Reformed persuasion.
Seconded, if only in the hope of seeing some wonderful Calvin kitsch!
The concept of the “play-in” contests is great! Something to warm us up and get our thinking revved up for the Big Dance.
With a bow-wow to the French, how about St. Guinefort? Dare I say it w/b something to howl about. Guinefort w/b able to run the competition to death.
Hi! Thank you for giving us a way to manage long-term Lent Madness withdrawal (the only thing this withdrawal compares to for me is Tour de France withdrawal) by offering the opportunity nominate saints for next year’s bracket.
My two immediate thoughts were Julian of Norwich, who I see was in the 2010 bracket, and so while I would advocate for her, there are many other choices, though I dearly love her. Christina Rossetti, then, is my other suggestion. Both women have much to teach us about Christian mysticism and God’s grace, among many other things. Plus, Christina has some great kitsch! For example, Zazzle.com offers quite a selection of Christina Rossetti: http://www.zazzle.com/christina+rossetti+gifts.
In any case, I look forward to next year, in which I hope to get whatever church (or seminary) I attend to take an active part in the bracket! I do love what you’re doing in involving folks in active learning about the saints. I even used you as an example several times in my EfM class (I’m Year One).
Yours in Christ,
Christine
When we were children we used to end our night prayers saying three times, “St Roch, pray for us and keep us well.” No one seemed to know who he was (or even if he was). When I grew up I did locate his story. A saint we can turn to in time of illness or to stave off illness, I think he’d be an interesting candidate for us to consider.
. . and a patron saint of dogs, I beleve.
When I visited Paris a few years ago, I stayed in a little hotel on Rue St Roch, just down the road from a church dedicated to St Roch (which turned out to be one of the highlights of my trip! I loved the architecture of its chapels). There were also plaques in almost all the churches I visited saying “Merci St Roch”. I got the impression that prayers to him in time of sickness were about as common in France at one time as prayers and novenas to St Jude were when I was growing up.
Listen with the ear of your heart – Benedict of Nursia.
I second Benedict of Nursia. Father of Western monasticism. His Rule is STILL relevant after almost 1500 years!
Ok, are we counting MLK as a saint? I do, even if he wasn’t Episcopalian. I suppose they have to be dead too, which rules out Desmond Tutu…
I think we should do a match up between Martin Luther King Junior and Martin Luther his name sake. That would be an interesting match-up! Or I’d like to see Gandhi vs. Martin Luther King. Are you including non-christians?
Finally !!! And, gee, Padre Schenk, where did we learn to say “hissy fit”? Hmmm ??? OK, on to the matter at hand: Definitely (1)Jonathan Daniels, modern day martyr; (2) Rt. Rev. John Walker, Bishop of DC..completed the National Cathedral; (3)Rev. Paulie Murray, noted clergywoman, civil rights leader, lawyer; (4) Rahab-helped Joshua “fit de battle of Jericho” so the walls could come tumblin’ down ! More later and you can still come to Nashville. You and your co-padre-in-madness, Lent, that is, owe it to yourselves.
Is there an “official” nomination form?
I nominate Saint Lucy. Dec 13.
She can carry the pity vote – “Her name, which means “light,” probably accounts for the story that her eyes were put out and her eyesight miraculously restored.”
She has Kitsch – I checked. statuettes in which she carries plates holding her eyes. (“She is said to have had her eyes gouged out at her martyrdom, and so is often protrayed carrying them on a plate.”)
And puns – She casts her eyes around the rooms… just saying….
I nominate James Solomon Russell, educator, archdeacon, and saint of Southern Virginia. Russell will come before General Convention this year to be added to the calendar of Holy Men and Women. An ex-slave and founder of St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Virginia. Russell also served as Archdeacon for Colored Work in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia from 1893 to 1929. Russell founded over 20 African American congregations in Southern Virginia. http://saintpaulsnet.com/?page_id=1677
Joseph… Because I want to sell my house and will be statue hunting tomorrow. Burying one is important than finding a good realtor right ?
Hi, Mary-Elise,
Madeleine Borthwick here, isn’t it supposed to be a statue of St. Francis of Assisi in front of your house if you’re trying to sell said house?
Peace,
Madeleine
I’m sorry if someone else has already commented on Joseph vs. Francis of Assisi as patron saint of home sellers–it is actually St. Joseph, a statuette buried upside down in the front garden to be specific, in Roman Catholic tradition. You can buy kits—statuette, directions and prayer—from most Roman Catholic book and gift shops. Now, all good Catholics know that a statue of Francis of Assisi OR a small shrine to Mary in whatever is the most meditative part of your outdoor space will promote a happy home life. …
Reinhold Niebuhr
The Rev. Billy Graham should definitely be in the next Lent Madness. The American preacher who spent his life preaching Gods word to anyone who would listen, yes Rev. Billy Graham.
St. Gertrude of Nivelles
Harriet Tubman
St. George
Healey Willan
Thomas Tallis
St. Hugh of Lincoln
I would be remiss to not take the opportunity to nominate St. Hubert, patron saint of hunters. Hubert was born a nobleman and gave up all after seeing a vision of a stag in the woods with a cross between its antlers on Good Friday! How can you pass up a story like that?
Ok, I sent this in before but now an official nomination:
Alban of Britain, because the first parish I served was St. Alban, Morehead, Ky, and
Cuthbert of Lindisfare, because I visited his tiny isle off the south end of the Holy Island.
Pseudo-Dionysius!
T.S. Eliot
Martin of Tours — patron of chaplains
Hilda of Whitby
Cuthbert and his otters
Herman of Alaska
TS Eliot?
Yes – if only for “this then is the greatest treason/To do the right deed for the wrong reason”.
Tarore of Waharoa (New Zealand)
Catherine Tekakwitha
absolutely- I think it is Kateri her first name
St. Denis who, although beheaded, picked up his head and preached a sermon while walking 10 kilometers. He is prayed to for relief from headaches and is the patron saint of Paris.
Would you consider the Woman at the Well? Though biblically nameless, she is known as Photina by the Orthodox churches. Arguably the first evangelist… I just like the idea of the dialogue that might ensue were she to be a member of the slate. Maybe paired with Rahab?? Though I myself suspect she got a bum rap–think the same is probably true of Thomas, and he was a good contender.
I nominate St. Patrick, patron saint of Wales
Yo! Saint David (Dai) is the patron saint of Wales!
William Byrd
John Merbecke
Basil of Caesarea
Helen
And there is always Fiacre, patron saint of Paris taxi drivers, although I think he was demoted to the legions of lesser saints!.
I nominate Charles Henry Brent, and St. Thomas Acquinas.
My all- time favorite, St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower of Jesus
Under orders of his superiors, Rev. Robert Hunt (c. 1568-1608) sailed for the New World to escape the humiliation of his wife Elizabeth’s dalliance with another man (and later accusations leveled at him for less than blameless behavior with a servant). Making first landfall at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean on April 26, 1607, after 144 days at sea, Rev. Hunt found his footing in the New World: Not only did he plant the Anglican church in what later became the USA, he kept a bunch of generally unruly men and boys in good order and spiritual comfort as they struggled to establish the first successful English colony at Jamestown. Like most of the colonists, Hunt died within the 1st year of Jamestowne’s settlement. His Feast Day is April 26th.
St. Hilda of Whitby, who was in charge of a double monastery with both monks and nuns, and who encouraged (well, pretty much commanded) the first English poet, Caedmon, to leave caring for the cows and do something with his writing after an angel visited him and gave him a beautiful song. She also organized the Synod of Whitby, which make me think of her as sort of a 7th Century version of Pam Chinnis. And Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky, who typed out his Chinese translation of the Bible with one finger after his hands were otherwise paralyzed.
Please consider Austin Farrer, friend and minister to C.S. Lewis and described by many as the most brilliant theologian of the 20th century. I would also second the idea of including Harriet Tubman.
Saint Dymphna
actual patron saint of madness-ties in nicely with the whole theme
Good point!
i nominate st. Claire the patron St. of television.
I have two- Thomas Merton and St. Thomas Aquinas. Just two who have influenced my life-
Lesbia Scott — author of “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God”
I trust that all the potential candidates must appear in Holy Women, Holy Men. If that is so (or even if it is not), I commend to you Bp George Berkeley (June 16). His “tree falls in the forest” argument for the existence of God is magnificent, and has inspired many a snot-nose philosophy undergraduate, of which I once was one.
Ignatius Loyola – and then you can market Lent Madness to all the Jesuit colleges & universities!
Seeking to illuminate the cause of saints with disabilities, I submit Thomas Gallaudet and Henry WInter Syle and also Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky.
Fanny Crosby
John Wesley
Frances Willard
Dr. Paul Brand
G. K. Chesterton
Henri Nouwen
I nominate Charles Henry Brent.
Second for the Little Flower.
Seraphim of Sarov
Barton W Stone (American restorer of the one true holy catholic apostolic church)
Fenelon
I nominate Tim & whats-his-name!!!!
OK OK, I’ll be good from now on.
Unless provoked
Sarah
St. John Bosco
That guy in New Zealand?
Madeleine L’Engle
St. Genevieve
Prisca (from Acts 18)
St. Brenden the Voyager
Thank you for nominating (Mr.) Fred Rogers. While we don’t doubt that it IS a beautiful day in the neighborhood, the Supreme Executive Committee does not have a “special feeling” about cardigan sweaters. Also, King Friday doesn’t hold a candle to Queen Emma.
It’s not the cardigan so much as the tennis shoes.
Regardless of the feelings of the SEC, Mr. Rogers loves both Fr. Tim and Fr. Scott just the way you are.
Tim……the SEC is treading on Dangerously Thin Ice when they say anything even Remotely Uncomplimentary about Fred Rogers. Also, we were not discussing King Friday(he’s something of a pompous jerk anyway)…where did that come from?
cardigan and tennis shoes all the way,
Madeleine Borthwick
Since Lent next year begins on Feb. 14, Valentine has to be a contender.
I “second” many on the list, particularly Romero and Tubman. I also suggest Saint Bernadette of Lourdes and Katharina Von Bora Luther.
I would like to nominate Hiram Kana, a Japanese born farmer who immigrated to the Nebraska in the years preceeding WWII and, under the tutaledge of the then Bishop of Nebraska, became an Episcopal priest to the Japanese community in western Nebraska. A biography follows:
KANO, FATHER HIRAM HISANORI (1889-1986)
Hiram Hisanori Kano was born into a Japanese noble family on January 30, 1889. His warlord father was the governor of the province of Kagoshima and a member of the Japanese parliament. As the second son in the family, young Kano was not required to follow his father’s career. Instead, he chose to study agriculture at the Imperial University in Tokyo, where he graduated with a bachelor of science degree in 1916. Kano eventually found his way to the Great Plains after William Jennings Bryan, a family friend, convinced his father that he could receive a better agricultural education in the United States. With a handwritten note from Bryan in his pocket, Kano journeyed to Lincoln, Nebraska, where in 1918 he earned a master’s degree in agricultural economics at the University of Nebraska.
In 1919 Kano married Ai “Ivy” Nagai in Seattle; the couple had two children. He put his agricultural education to good use when he bought a 300-acre farm near Litchfield, Nebraska. Kano became active in the Japanese Americanization Society, teaching English and working as an intermediary or translator for immigrants. In 1921 Kano and Rev. George Allen Beecher, the Episcopal bishop for western Nebraska, successfully defeated a bill introduced in the Nebraska legislature that would have barred Japanese residents from owning property and serving as legal guardians of their children. During the 1920s Kano became active in the Episcopal Church, working with Japanese living in the Platte River valley. He was ordained a deacon in 1928 and became a priest in 1936.
Kano’s life took a dramatic turn on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. After conducting services in North Platte, Nebraska, that Sunday morning, he was arrested by local police and interrogated by federal agents. Because of his family ties to the Japanese government and his position as a leader of Japanese immigrants in the Great Plains, federal authorities deemed Kano a threat to national security and sent him to an internment camp. While being held away from his family, Kano taught English classes to fellow internees. In 1944 he was released and allowed to move his family to Nashota, Wisconsin, where he entered a seminary, earning another master’s degree in 1946. Returning to Nebraska, Kano worked as an Episcopal missionary among Nebraska’s Japanese residents until his retirement in 1957. After leaving the priesthood, Kano moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he and his wife bought a small farm. Kano died on October 24, 1988.
Mark R. Ellis University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kano, Hiram Hisanori. A History of the Japanese in Nebraska. Lincoln: Nebraska Committee for the Humanities, 1984.
It is my understanding that Father Kano has been proposed for sainthood, but his process has been held up because he hasn’t been dead long enough! I think he deserves some recognition by an organization as exhalted as yours.
I nominate Frances Perkins, who was the brains, passion and person of deep faith ( Episcopalian) who had the vision and got the president (FDR) and the congress to pass the Social Security Bill and much else besides such as ending child labor, the right to organize, unemployment insurance, and safe working conditions. The only piece that didn’t get passed was universal health care! She served others until her death and died without a home.
seconding Oscar Romero
and how about JS Bach?
Judithio……I must admit I’m of two minds about JS Bach…..I sing in the choir at my church, have sung several pieces of his and that lovely mathematical precision that makes his music so enjoyable to listen to is also a TOTAL PAIN IN THE YOU-KNOW-WHAT to learn. maybe he shoulda stuck to mathematics.
yours,
Madeleine Borthwick
John Mason Neale — hymnographer (check the index of authors in The Hymnal 1982) and founder of the Society of St Margaret [of Antioch, not of Scotland], of which I’m an Associate.
I’ll also pull for T.S. Eliot, and especially Charles Williams — poet, novelist, theologian, close friend of Lewis, Tolkien, and Eliot. (Full disclosure: I’m also a member of the Charles Williams Society.)
As a member of St. Matha’s of Bethany I would like to nominate her.
That would be St. Martha! I think i had a typo . Hail St. Martha of Bethany!
I nominate my patron saint, St. Theresa the Little Flower (of Lisieux), for her little way!
I nominate W.E.B DuBois, and Paul Jones!
Among the moderns, how about Mother Theresa of Calcutta, surely a strong candidate for a golden halo!
J.S. Bach – and I bet he takes the Golden Halo next year.
St. Timothy and St. Richard of Chichester. I don’t believe there is a St. Scott 🙂
My biggest request is that you improve gender balance to roughly half women rather than this year’s problematic field with barely more than one quarter women.
To add to some of the other great suggestions here on that count : Junia the Apostle, Phoebe the Deacon, Felicitas/Felicity of Carthage, Gertrud of Helfta, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Mechtild of Hackeborn, Macrina the fourth Cappadocian, Katie von Bora Luther, Susannah Wesley, Frances of Rome.
Seconding suggestions here on Therese the Little Flower (patron of women’s ordination) Madeleine L’Engle, and Kateri Tekawitha–particularly apt as this year she bumped from Blessed to full St. in the RC system, first Native American to be so honored by them.
St. Bridget (family spelling) of Ireland. Her 1 February date covers a lot of Celtic spiritualities. Here’s to all the Bridies.
I was also thinking about deacon Phoebe and Susanna Wesley. (But let’s not pair her against any of her sons, eh?)
I nominate The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Been playing the LEVAS hymn honoring him as a Saint for 25 years in Episcopal churches from Atlanta, to Ohio, and even in Vegas baby. This saint gets cheers after singing a hymn honoring him. People look forward to the service nearest to January 15th. No other hymn honoring Saints gets as many positive comments. Only St. Patrick comes close in a musical smack down, but this Saint requires lots of beer drinking and green clothing to get the congregation in a frenzy. Yes this is a challenge worthy of Lent madness. It plays out every year in the church music and will continue for the forseeable future.
I nominate Kateri Tekakwitha
Fannie Lou Hamer
Jane Addams
Dorothy Day
William Wilberforce
Martin Luther
and I second Oscar Romero along with Jean Donovan, Sr. Dorothy Kazel, Sr. Maura Clarke and Sr. Ita Ford
Please consider for consideration St. Luke (for the healers), St. George (for the dragon lovers–and think of the tchotske possibilities with armor involved), St. Cecilia (for the musicians), and St. Mark (for St. Mark’s Place as well as for his cool winged lion).
My father had an exclamation “Great Jehosaphat!” I didn’t know it was a real person until recently, but he fought the Syrians, which recommended him to me.
Seconding Niebuhr, Nouen and Johann Sebastian, while confessing that I do not know if they qualify under the rigidly flexible eligibility requirements of the SEC. Would also second Thomas Merton, but he was in this year’s bracket (and should have gone MUCH deeper than he did!) Alas, JUST WAIT ‘TIL 2014! (I almost observed that that sounded a lot like a UNC fan during football season, i.e., “just wait til basketball season.”) 😉
Absalom Jones deserves a spot!
I’d like to nominate Sainte Foy, a local favorite here in France. Martryed in 303AD at the age of 12, I think she could be a real contender as a Cinderella favorite. She loves playing tricks and is especially fond of releasing prisoners who pray to her…guilty or not. She also has one of the richest treasuries in France because both Charlemagne and Pepin loved her and her abbey and because she’d appear to rich women in their dreams and convince them to bring her their gold jewelry! She also did a lot of curing blindness (helpful when dealing with blind referees) and assisting women in childbirth.
And has the most beautiful Romanesque church in the world (in Conques)!
Saint Patrick, Mother Theresa,
As one half of a clergy couple, I think it’s time for a couples/pairs Lent Madness. Priscilla and Aquila, for starters. It could include those who were not connected romantically, but whom the Holy Spirit brought together in mission: Cyril & Methodius, e.g. Or Tim and Scott — sorry, I meant Timothy and Titus! And how about those who were always on the opposite sides of issues, but helped clarify one another’s vision, starting with Peter and Paul? “Year of the pairs” could help remind us all that we do our best work for God when we don’t try to be Lone Rangers, but listen to each other.
I nominate Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton. She was raised in the Episcopal Church, but later converted to Catholicism. A hospital in Waterville, ME carries her name. Following is a portion of of her bio on Wikipedia:
Foundress:
After struggling through some trying and difficult years, in 1809 Elizabeth accepted the invitation of support the Sulpicians had made to her and moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland. A year later she established the Saint Joseph’s Academy and Free School, a school dedicated to the education of Catholic girls. This was possible due to the financial support of Samuel Sutherland Cooper, a wealthy convert and seminarian at the newly established Mount Saint Mary’s University, begun by John Dubois, S.S., and the Sulpicians.
On 31 July, Elizabeth established a religious community in Emmitsburg dedicated to the care of the children of the poor. It was the first congregation of religious sisters to be founded in the United States, and its school was the first free Catholic school in America. The order was initially called the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. From that point on, she became known as “Mother Seton”.
The remainder of her life was spent in leading and developing the new congregation. Mother Seton was described as a charming and cultured lady. Her connections to New York society and the accompanying social pressures to leave the new life she had created for herself did not deter her from embracing her religious vocation and charitable mission. The greatest difficulties she faced were actually internal, stemming from misunderstandings, interpersonal conflicts and the deaths of two daughters, other loved ones, and young Sisters in the community. She died of tuberculosis on 4 January 1821, at the age of 46. Today, her remains are entombed in the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Legacy:
Dedicated to following the will of God, Elizabeth Ann had a deep devotion to the Eucharist, Sacred Scripture and the Virgin Mary. The 23rd Psalm was her favorite prayer throughout her life. She was a woman of prayer and service who embraced the apostolic spirituality of Louise de Marillac and Vincent de Paul. It had been her original intention to join the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, but the embargo of France due to the Napoleonic Wars prevented this connection. It was only decades later, in 1850, that the Emmitsburg community took the steps to merge with the Daughters, and to become their American branch, as their foundress had envisioned.
Statue in St. Raymond’s Cemetery
Bronx, New York
Today, six separate religious congregations trace their roots to the beginnings of the Sisters of Charity in Emmitsburg. In addition to the original community of Sisters at Emmitsburg (now part of the Vincentian order), they are based in New York City, Cincinnati, Ohio, Halifax Regional Municipality, Convent Station, New Jersey, and Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Veneration:
On the 18 December 1959 Elizabeth was declared Venerable by the Sacred Congregation of Rites. She was beatified by Pope John XXIII on the 17 March 1963, and canonized by Pope Paul VI on the 14 September 1975, making her the first native-born United States citizen to be canonized. As a condition for canonization, the Catholic Church requires that for a saint who has not been martyred, at least two miracles take place at his or her intercession.[5] The Holy See recognized that this condition was met when attributing three miracles to Seton’s intercession: curing Sister Gertrude Korzendorfer, S.C., of cancer, curing Ann Theresa O’Neill of acute lymphatic leukemia, and curing Carl Kalin of encephalitis.[6][7]
Her feast day is celebrated as a memorial in the dioceses of the United States on the 4 January.
I would love to see her get the nomination! As a Sister of Charity I’d love it!
Second Oscar Romero and MLK
Jonathan Myrick Daniels.
I nominate (or second the nominations of) Fred Rogers, Martin Luther, Flannery O’Connor, and J.S. Bach.
I nominate St. Catherine of Alexandria – patron saint of theologians and philosophers and our Episcopal Church in Temple Terrace Florida
Ditto!!
I nominate the Trinity. (Counts as one, y’know…)
Vassar Miller
John of Damascus, defender of icons in the first Iconoclastic Controversy, who said, “I worship not matter, but the Creator of matter, who became matter for my sake.”
St. Stephen – deacon and martyr
St. Dymphna
I’d like to nominate Saint Kassiani, a Byzantine abbess, poet, composer, and hymnographer who most notably authored the Hymn of Kassiani, sung every Holy Wednesday in the Orthodox church. She had a fascinating personal life, coupled with great talent.
Nominees for 2013 (hoping for at least 2 out of 5 🙂 )
1. Madeleine L’Engle
2. St. Hilda, Abbess of Whitby
3. Felicity
4. St. Augustine of Canterbury
5. Titus
Thank you!
And just for fun, St. Cornelys, patron saint of horned cattle, who still has a sacred fountain in the wilds of Brittany.
Support for Martin Luther, JS Bach, St. Swithin and St Guinefort
I just read a very good BBC article about US Army Chaplain Father Emil Kapaun, being considered both for sainthood and the Congressional Medal of Honor. It’s an amazing story of bravery and being the face of Christ under horrific conditions.
Definitely! Fr. Kapaun’s story should be much better known.
Frances Perkins
Augustine of Canterbury
Florence Li Tim-Oi
Anne Hutchinson
Eric Liddell
Martin Luther King Jr.
George
Johann Sebastian Bach
Alfred the Great
Richard Hooker
Samuel Seabury
Stephen
Æthelthryth (Etheldreda)
John the Evangelist
I nominate Julian of Norwich, Claire of Assisi, and Jonathan Daniels.
I nominate Faustina Kowalska
I nominate Abraham Lincoln. To quote from J.H. Holland in Henry Ketcham’s “The Life of Abraham Lincoln”: “He had a tenderly, brotherly regard for every human being; and the thought of oppression was torment to him… A statesman without a statesman’s craftiness, a politician without a politician’s meanness, a great man without a great man’s vices, a philanthropist without a philanthropist’s impracticable dreams, a Christian without pretensions, a ruler without pride of place and power, an ambitious man without selfishness, and a successful man without vanity.”
Clare of Assisi, the other Francis.
Since you won’t allow my guy.
Wow…I hope either the rate of these comments slows down for you guys. or that you have an army of minions to sort through the nominations. (I am seeing dozens of cassock-and-cotta-clad persons hunched over computers, hitting control+f and filling out spreadsheets…or some such.) It’s going to be a long haul til February!
Great list, already.
Happy to see Jonathan Daniels and Madeleine L’Engle on the list of potentials. Frances Perkins’ story should be better known and now it is.
Samuel Isaac Joseph Scherechewsky, Cuthbert, Mary of Egypt
I nominate Saint Cainnech of Aghaboe (515/16–600), also known as Saint Canice in Ireland, Saint Kenneth in Scotland, Saint Kenny and in Latin Saint Canicus.
I wish to second the nomination of Jonathan Daniels.
I nominate Dympna, patron saint of epileptics and the insane.
I nominate Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons. It’s easy to think that he lived in a simpler world, to romanticize the ninth century and see it as a time of short lives, hard labor, and communal values. The people of Wessex were mostly farmers, except for the thegns who lived with the king, and except for the monks, although many of these weren’t adverse to tilling their own lands. These monks had much to worry about, as had everyone else. Terrible news came repeatedly from the east of England. The Vikings were invading in great hordes, toppling the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and burning the monasteries. The poor monks must have heard about the deaths of their friends and brothers with great regularity, and their mourning must have been increased when they were told that the monasteries in the east had been burned to the ground, that the holy relics and worship objects had been lost or defiled, and, most terrible of all, that the books had been burned or torn to pieces. These books were of vital importance, since the monks kept the only repositories of knowledge in England. Often they were the only ones who could read. They had access to the golden legacy of all the human thoughts and hopes that had come before, and because of this, they had a sense of the diversity of the world beyond their own small kingdoms. The deprivations of the Vikings brought a very real narrowing to the Anglo-Saxon’s sense of what it meant to be a human being.
There had been large Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, but Wessex was not one of them. It had been a client kingdom of Mercia, to the north. But Mercia soon fell to the Vikings, just like everywhere else. Wessex stood alone. Some historians say that leadership isn’t important in history, that the story of humankind is determined by vast material and economic forces, even geologic forces from time to time. Wessex stands as a counter argument. It was small and unimportant, but it had the advantage of a wise king, Aethelwulf, who may have been a monk before he got married. Aethelwulf had five sons, and when he died these sons, adopting the wisdom of their father, decided that the inheritance would pass between them, since they didn’t want to endanger Wessex by allowing one of their young children to inherit the crown. In ten years, three of the brothers became king and then died while battling the vikings. In this way, the crown finally came to Alfred in the year 871. He was twenty-one years old. The year before he had distinguished himself in battle by defeating the Vikings at Ashdown. He understood that his kingship had one great task before it. He had to defeat his powerful enemy and somehow preserve his tiny kingdom. Wessex had every military disadvantage. It had no navy, and the Vikings terrorized the coast with their long ships. The fighting men of Wessex were also farmers, and as they marched and trained they worried about their crops, and about getting in the harvest so that their wives and children wouldn’t starve during the long winter. If the Vikings happened to attack at harvest time, Alfred’s army had a tendency to drift away, as the men laid down their spears and picked up their scythes to work in the fields.
The first seven years of Alfred’s reign didn’t go particularly well. The Vikings raided repeatedly and then, in 878, they launched an all-out attack, led by the ferocious King Guthrum. They penetrated into the kingdom and seized one of Alfred’s palaces at Chippenham. The West Saxons fled before them. Alfred himself fled into the Sedgemoor Marshes, to an island fastness with the charming name of Burrow Mump. He was accompanied by a rag-tag group of thegns and refugee monks, and as he wandered through his remaining kingdom, organizing a guerrilla resistance, he was often alone. He was so threadbare and bedraggled that a woman living in the swamp mistook him for an ordinary traveller, and set him the task of watching some cakes she had cooking on the hearth while she went outside to cut more firewood. The king, preoccupied with the task of saving his kingdom, stared into space and didn’t notice the cakes burning. When the housewife came in she roundly berated him. This story got about, and the West Saxon’s grew in affection for their king. Here was a man who was humble enough that the lowliest of his subjects could yell and scream at him, while he sat quietly and admitted his wrong. But here was a man who was also strong enough that he could gather together an army at Burrow Mump, and lead them out to fight the Vikings. He met the Viking horde on the northern edge of Salisbury plain, drove his troops between them, divided their forces, and defeated them. The Vikings went fleeing back to Chippenham. Alfred followed and lay siege, and the Vikings soon surrendered. Alfred made peace, and became his enemy Guthrum’s godfather when the Viking king was baptized soon afterwards.
England was split in two, with the Vikings controlling the east and north, and Alfred controlling the west and south. Now that he had peace and stability, his first concern was how to maintain it. He called upon European allies to supply him with the expertise to build a navy. And he created a system of forts, called burhs, which could defend the land. These burhs didn’t have permanent garrisons, but were defended by the people who lived around them. They were places that the people could flee to in times of danger. They were also the places where the people held their markets, and these burhs became some of the most important cities in England. Alfred reorganized his army by creating a rotating system of service. When the army was called up, half of it stayed at home for part of the year, working the land, and then rotated into the ranks so that the other half could go home to plow or harvest. These changes gave the West Saxons a tenacious strength and a stable environment in which to work and raise their children.
It also gave them the chance to reinvigorate learning. Alfred was a devout Christian who enjoyed spending time with the monks, and it was through their influence that he came to learn Latin and prioritize scholarship in general. Once he had turned his mind to learning, he was surprised to find how many of his people were illiterate, and how few books there were in his kingdom. The church services were in Latin, and few people understood what was going on. Alfred set about the task of translating many of the great philosophical and theological classics into the Anglo-Saxon tongue. He himself undertook some of these translations. He also created an enduring record of the social and economic status of his kingdom. He had monks keep careful records in their separate monasteries, and these records collectively became the Anglo-Saxon chronicle.
He did all of this while living the everyday life of a human being, and the occasionally vexatious life of a leader. His times were no simpler than our own. They were in many ways harder, involving a life and death struggle against the Vikings, not to mention against disease and agricultural disaster. And through it all, people were still people. They still squabbled and fought over unimportant things. They still hurt each other intentionally or unintentionally. They still clung to their petty privileges and cared more about status than they cared about goodness. But Alfred could see past all of that with compassion. He bothered to understand them and their needs, and he remained humble before them, dedicated to serving them and keeping them safe. As he himself said, “It has ever been my desire to live honourably while I was alive, and after my death to leave to them that should come after me my memory in good works.”
I nominate Saint Cainnech of Aghaboe (515/16–600), also known as Saint Canice in Ireland, Saint Kenneth in Scotland, Saint Kenny and in Latin Saint Canicus.
I also wish to second (or is third?) the nomination of Jonathan Daniels.
My suggestions are: Theresa of Avila (again), Martin Luther, Billy Graham, and this last one is more of a group and my first choice – The Council of Trent. Putting the Bible together, to me, is to say the least, a saintly thing.
Definitely Mother Teresa of Cacutta! Such an amazing example of living the Word.
I second Jonathan Myrick Daniels!
Perhaps during your benevolent discernment, the SEC would consider a person or two unique to the ELCA’s calendar? (Maybe as part of a first four?) After all, we are in full communion, so maybe we could all deign to live like it. For an important modern, ecumenical influence, how about Br. Roger of Taize’? He isn’t on any calendar as far as I know (at least not yet), but I knew him to be a very saintly man and quite an inspiration. Third, I am also happy to see Fred Rogers and Jonathan Daniels nominated. Last but not least, for a few women, I most humbly request the SEC to consider: Hildegard von Bingen, Bridget of Sweden, Katie Luther (how could I not?), Esther John, Mother Teresa, and/or Sophie Scholl (some on calendars and some not, but important witnesses). Humbly submitted with thanskgiving for the great 2012 bracket. Looking forward to 2013!
PS thanks to all the peeps who nominated Martin Luther. It should go without saying that I totally agree! (But just in case anyone doubts…)
Being a Helen, myself, I would like to nominate ST. HELEN, the finder of the True Cross. She has a beautiful, huge statue in St. Peter’s holding a giant cross, on the right as you walk to the high altar.
Being a school teacher, I nominate ST. DYMPHNA, patron for mental anguish. I have prayed to her every morning for years and years, to get me through the day.
Being a singer, I nominate ST. CECELLIA, patron of singers. When you sing you are praying twice.
I also nominate ST. ELIZABETH, who did so much for her people, eventhough she was a royal. My middle name is Elizabeth.
FATHER DAMIEN was a wonderful saint, caring for those with Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) who were sent to the Hawaiian island of Moloka’i, when no one else would have anything to do with them. He contracted the disease himself while caring for them, very similar to the stories of the lepers in the Bible. BUT do we really want to get the people of Hawai’i involved again???? h+++
How about John Huss, Florence Nightengale, George Herbert, and John Donne?
I nominate:
John and/or Charles Wesley
St. Joseph (not least of all because his day is my birthday)
Oscar Romero
Martin Luther King Jr.
John Muir
Sojourner Truth
Tim and Scott,
I think the idea of a play-in is great, and I would suggest you use it for two saints that aren’t yet in Holy Women and Holy Men (sort of a warm-up for the show, as it were). I would nominate Rogers Israel, first bishop of Northwestern Pennsylvania and an chaplain during WWI who helped found the American Cathedral in Paris (you have gone worldwide, right?). Our diocese has done a commemoration for him at our recent 100th anniversary, which was traditionally the first step in getting someone on the Episcopal calendar.
I also like the idea of a Martin Luther-Martin Luther King, Jr. matchup.
Thanks, guys!!
In the Fictitious Saints Department, I nominate St. Leibowitz. “Bless me, Father. I ate a lizard” (Brother Francis on one of his 7 vocational vigils).
And to match against St Leibowitz in this category, I nominate St. Vidicon of Cathode!
I nominate Pelagius: brilliant, misunderstood, abused and envied by Augustine. Augustine had Pelagius tried for heresy twice, once before the Pope and both times Pelagius was acquitted. Finally, Augustine used his influence with the Emperor to have Pelagius found guilty of heresy.
I nominate Francis Perkins, Secretary of Labor in the Roosevelt administration.
I nominate Blessed Frances Joseph-Gaudet (1861- December 1934), prison reform worker and educator. She was born in a log cabin in Holmesville, Mississippi of African American and Native American descent. She was raised by her grandparents. Later she went to live with a brother in New Orleans where she attended school and Straight College. Widowed early, she dedicated her life to prison reform. Beginning in 1894 she held prayer meetings, wrote letters, delivered messages, and secured clothing for black prisoners, and later for white prisoners as well. Her dedication to prisoners and prison reform won her the respect of prison officials, city authorities, the governor, and the Prison Reform Association.
A delegate to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union international convention in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1900, she worked for the reform of young blacks arrested for misdemeanor or vagrancy. Joseph-Gaudet was the first woman to support juvenile offenders in Louisiana, and her efforts helped found the juvenile court.
She eventually purchased a farm and founded the Gaudet Normal and Industrial School. The school, which eventually expanded to 105 acres and numerous buildings, also served as a boarding school for children with working mothers.
Joseph-Gaudet served as principal of the school until 1921 when she donated the school to the Episcopal Church of Lousiana. The school closed in 1950 and the land was later expropriated for highway construction. Those funds were placed in an endowment that supports the education of African American children and children in low income communities in the Diocese of Louisiana through grants and scholarships, continuing the work begun by Blessed Frances Joseph-Gaudet.
Her feast day is December 30.
Florence Li Tim-Oi
We propose a paradigm shift. Instead of existing Saints, what about a bracket consisting solely of POTENTIAL saints, such as Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa, etc.? This idea would allow us to investigate the living as well as the dead and to learn about a wide variety of kind people who sacrificed for others or for the church.
This guy:
http://www.theworld.org/2012/04/chaplain-kapaun-sainthood/
I would like to nominate Jeremy Taylor who lived from 8/15/1613 to 8/19, 1667. Very interesting man
St. Patrick
Martin Luther King
Joseph of Aramethea
All deserving of the Golden Halo!!!!
I like St. Dymphna and Elizabeth of Hungary.
How ’bout John of the Cross, C.S. Lewis, Maximilian Kolbe, and/or Dorothy Day?
C.S. Lewis won the Golden Halo in 2011 — see list above . . . .
Oops! I missed that! And I thought I had read through pretty thoroughly. Time to put the bifocals on?
John and/or Charles Wesley
Moses of Ethiopia
Absalom Jones
I’d also add Oscar Romero, but I might throw a fit if he lost.
Alphege
Archbishop of Canterbury, and Martyr, 1012
Did I already nominate St. Drogo? if not, consider it done.
I would like to nominate Cardinal Newman and Henri Nouwen.
Nominations: Isabel Florence Hopgood, Frances Joseph Gaudet, Samuel Ajayi Crowther, Florence Li Tim-Oi, James Theodore Holly, Francis Perkins, Julia Chester Emery.
I nominate St. Jude because“No lost cause is too lost”. FYI St. Jude bath crystals are available from The Lucky Mojo Curio Co. I also nominate Philip Neri the patron saint of taking yourself less seriously. His official prayer from Catholic.org: “Saint Philip Neri, we take ourselves far too seriously most of the time. Help us to add humor to our perspective — remembering always that humor is a gift from God. Amen.” Or Genesius of Rome who is the patron saint of comedians, clowns and lawyers. Hmmm…
I always got a kick out of Teresa of Avila’s sense of humor. She’s reported to have prayed — during a particularly difficult period — “Lord, if this is how you treat your friends, it’s no wonder you have so few of them.”
What a jewel 🙂 Thanks Katherine!
I would like to nominate Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria.
J.S, Bach, John Donne,
Please consider —
Roger Williams: founder of Rhode Island, Baptist for a time, seeker, and restless spirit.
John Bunyan: “Pilgrim’s Progress”.
Cyprian of Carthage: leader in a time of trouble; martyr.
I recommend:
St. Charbel of Annaya,
Please consider Peter Ronald Bentley Henery (1911-1999) A Christian man who lived his faith, a Christian enabler.
I support the nominations of OSCAR ROMERO, HENRY NOUWEN, and JONATHAN DANIELS.
I too would like to nominate Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a true Christian voice for truth in a time of madness, and apparently (like all the other saints!) an imperfect human being whom God used for a great purpose.
Also Roger Williams–just read an article about him, what he did was amazing! True religious freedom/freedom of conscience when everybody else was all about doing things their way & forcing everyone else to conform (we seem to be getting back to that now–aaaghhhh!)