Lent Madness is back for an another action-packed week and so is the Saintly Sixteen. Today Maria Skobtsova faces Quiteria. Russian nun vs. nonuplet warrior. To get to this round, Maria defeated Thomas à Kempis and Quiteria bested Genesius (remember him?).
If you’ve forgotten what happened last Friday, which seems hard to imagine since the weekend was one hour shorter than usual, Richard Hooker defeated Margaret of Scotland 64% to 36% to advance to the Elate Eight against the winner of Phocas the Gardener vs. Katharina von Bora.
Maria Skobtsova
Maria Skobtsova was a Russian nun living in Paris who helped the poor and fought Nazis. She also had one of the most action-packed lives of the modern saints. To wit:
In her early life, she was a poet, and wrote several books, one entitled “Scythian Shards.
At the end of the Russian Revolution, she took part in the All-Russian Soviet Congress, as a delegate of the Social Revolutionary Party. She wrote about the experience in dire terms, including being dismissed by Trotsky’s lieutenant who told her “Your role is played out. Go where you belong, into history’s garbage can!” On her way home, she was nearly executed several times, and that experience seals her dissatisfaction with revolutionary politics. She wrote, “My loyalty was not to any imagined government as such, but to those whose need of justice was greatest: the people. Red or white [the two sides in the revolution] my position is the same—I will act for justice and for the relief of suffering. I will try to love my neighbor.”
In 1926, her daughter Anastasia dies of influenza, which prompted the end of her marriage. But Maria ended up working with the poorest of the poor in Central Paris. Rather than letting her successive tragedies destroy her, she felt she saw “a new road before me and a new meaning in life, to be for all, for all who need maternal care, assistance or protection.”
When she opened the care house for refugees and the impoverished in Paris, she had a hard time finding nuns and clergy who were able to keep up with her, both because of her refusal to cooperate with the Nazis, and because of her unorthodox methods. Two nuns left soon after arriving, declaring the establishment “a monastic Bohemia.” The metropolitan of the region reflected later, “She was a very unusual nun in her behavior and her manners. I was simply staggered when I saw her for the first time in monastic clothes. I was walking along the Blvd. Montparnasse and I saw: in front of a cafe, on the pavement, there was a table, on the table there was a glass of beer, and behind the glass was sitting a Russian nun in full monastic robes. I looked at her and decided that I would never go near that woman. I was young then, and held extreme views.”
To say she disagreed with Hitler would be an understatement. When the Nazis took Paris, the Russian refugees living in the city were a particular target of theirs, because they were considered allies of Russia—an Allied power. Russian emigres were routinely rounded up if their identity cards marked them as non-French. However, Mother Maria and Father Dimitri (her chaplain) refused to comply with the carrying of identity cards, even when they were warned that to do so would be courting deportation. Maria said of her decision, “There is not only a Jewish question but a Christian question. Don’t you realize that this battle is being waged against Christianity? If we were true Christians, we would all wear the Star. The age of confessors has arrived.” She often said if the Nazis knocked on her door and asked her to hand over the Jews, she would produce an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Details of her last hours in Ravensbruck concentration camp are unclear. Witnesses’ reports vary: She was either chosen for the gas chamber, or volunteered to go in someone else’s place. She, Father Dimitri, and her adult son, Yuir, who also worked in the home, died as well.
Quiteria
Quiteria is a saint and martyr from the early centuries of the church about whom little is known beyond the legends that are held by the communities that have been most inspired by her witness.
Portuguese observances of Quiteria provide among the most far reaching accounts and legends of her life and ministry. This includes her work with her sisters Eumelia, Liberata, Gema, Genebra, Germana, Basilissa, Marcia, and Vitoria. When their nonuplet sisterly powers combined, they became a squad of warriors – freeing Christian prisoners and engaging in guerilla warfare against the persecutory Roman Empire.
Quiteria’s martyrdom is also an epic legend in its own right. The sisters’ guerilla campaign ultimately came to an end when, according to one legend, Quiteria was captured, beheaded, and thrown into the ocean, allowing her sisters to escape. When guards were sent to capture her sisters, Quiteria emerged from the ocean, holding her own head, warning off the Roman guards from their pursuit.
While the idea of a nonuplet guerilla warfare squad may be inaccessible to many, those who teared up in the final scenes of Old Yeller can find a different point of connection to Quiteria. Legend holds that after her capture and before her death, the power of her voice alone managed to keep an official’s two rabid dogs under control and at bay. For doing so, she is often considered the saint whose prayers are to be invoked against the bites of rabid and mad dogs. For doing so, artwork often depicts her holding a dog on a leash, or as protecting the vulnerable from harm from rabid dogs.
– David Sibley
Maria Skobstova vs. Quiteria
- Maria Skobstova (91%, 6,252 Votes)
- Quiteria (9%, 645 Votes)
Total Voters: 6,897
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This is easy. I voted for Maria because she let anyone into her home.
I agree, Oliver. The legends about Quiteria are interesting but Maria’s works are well documented and she surely saved many lives.
Ditto!
Oliver, I agree with you!
Well said, Oliver! Right on!
Me too Oliver!
My book club was talking about this today, Oliver: we need to meet people with love.
i votted for qitera cuz she had the guts to hold a bloody head i hope she wins she is col
she also got killed so her sisters cud escape i thought that was prety col also
And maybe if i’d known to shout her name I wouldn’t have been bitten by a dog while i was playing pokemon go in the middle of the road!
You’re so right Timmy.
yeah wich could get her killed and i know that is really heroic but quiteria was a martyr and sacrificed her life for jesus but dont hate on me i am voting quiteria
Maria died in Ravensbruck — that does it for me! Vote for Maria~
Very good point Oliver.
I love this: “She often said if the Nazis knocked on her door and asked her to hand over the Jews, she would produce an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
Maria for me today.
I loved that too!
The handing over of Mary cinched it for me. My laugh of the day.
This may be my favorite Lent Madness moment yet 🙂
I just discovered The Hiding Place on Amazon Prime and watched the story of Corrie ten Boom whose family hid Jews during WW2. Corrie survived Ravensbruk, though her sister did not, so with that connection, today’s vote to Maria!
Every year, I keep nominating Corrie ten Boom for a place on Lent Madness.
Oh, Maria, you are certainly among the Righteous. What bravery, what courage! And what a splendid countenance – love the photo. What a blessing you were in your lifetime and now.
Count me in on that nominating petition please, Kathy. Thank you.
I would vote for her!
“Thank God for the fleas” keeps me going.
“… if we were true Christians we would all wear the Star” did it for me!
Amen, Lisa!
I have a friend who has said the same many times and a beer now and again is a good thing.
Me, too. We are all in this together, period. And I would totally vote for Corrie ten boom!
Knowing about emigees from the soviet Union to Paris then and later, I voted fro Mar
Saints inspire us. I just saw Black Panther, so I’m all about women warriors. I also like the image of Quiteria coming out of the ocean with her head under her arm and scaring off the Roman guards. Quiteria inspires me in my war against social evils.
we are the 9 %
Maria. I like “badly behaved” nuns.
I agree. And she did all this before Red Bull! Wow! What a powerhouse!
I agree with the others. It is easy to vote for Maria.
Too right, TJ!
I agree, Frank. That bit about turning over a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a way of handing over the Jews was such a perfect response. I also liked that a Russian nun in full monastic garb sitting with a glass of beer scared people, and that she saw Nazism as a war on Christianity. Good write-up!
Love the write-up!
Go Maria!
Agree with all about Maria, and from earlier, “The liturgy must be translated into life,” she would say.
Quiteria got my vote last time — Go Girl Gangs!. This time it’s Maria who could inspire me to wear a head scarf.
I usually go against the legendary saints, but Quinteria and her 8 sisters (note she may have been fifth born) and their freedom fighting gets to me.
Yea for Maria, she is fine example of the Christian standing stoutly in face of evil and injustice. Her willingness and compassion to help destitute refugees is very timely with the current mess in Middle East, Asia, and Africa. On the lighter side I relate to Maria enjoying beer and not being a bit ashamed in doing so. I think Ben Franklinn is credited with saying, “beer is a sign that God loves us.”
Agree that producing Mary icon as a Jew and Christians should all wear the star gives me a lot of thought of what is expected of me in today’s world.
Marie was a woman of determination and an independent thinker. She deserves celebration.
I voted for Quiteria. It is easy for most of us to identify more with the modern saints. But Quiteria lived in a time where being Christian was persecuted and not only did she not denounce her faith, she actively worked to save others. Plus, she was able to live outside of the expectations of women of that time!
Truth conquers fiction or legend. But holy hell! Holding her own head???
There is not only a Jewish question but a Christian question. Don’t you realize that this battle is being waged against Christianity? If we were true Christians, we would all wear the Star. The age of confessors has arrived.
The second sentence of that quote is absolutely true of racism then and now. And maybe the coffee cup should be a beer glass this year with Saint Maria Skobstova on it.
Yes! To go with the Brigid pint glass from a couple of years ago.
835 votes this early in the morning? I may call foul here.
Foul? Easy choice.
Pent upeagerness to vote after a long, if hour shorter, weekend of no one to vote for in Lent Madness. I know Invited earlier than usual.
Pent upeagerness to vote after a long, if hour shorter, weekend of no one to vote for in Lent Madness. I know I voted earlier than usual.
The picture won it for me. No problem w/Maria, a smiling nun.
My thoughts exactly. The beer on the table, as well as her standing up against Nazis, sealed the deal.
“a monastic Bohemia” is intriguing. I often vote for the underdog, but the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary sealed it for me.
Since we know so little about Quiteria, and the idea of her greeting me with her head under her arm was a little off-putting. I think I’ll have a beer with Maria!
835 votes shows the clarity of Maria in the eyes of God and all of us who see her now. Maria for the halo. And I like the beer glass idea.
Oliver, I agree with you!
I voted for Quiteria. Although we only have mythologized fragments of her story, she was a woman who fought oppression with her sisters, biological or not. Early Christianity, especially in that part of the world, had a tradition of empowered women. Their story has been suppressed and forgotten.
Hmm, the mythical Avenging Girl Gang of Nine doesn’t seem to be generating the same enthusiasm this morning as it did in the first round . . . .
I know Maria will win, so I’m giving my vote to the warrior. Love both of their stories. I’m sorry one has to be eliminated.
I voted for Maria, it was easy – she understood the danger the Nazi’s represented.
“There is not only a Jewish question but a Christian question. Don’t you realize that this battle is being waged against Christianity? If we were true Christians, we would all wear the Star. The age of confessors has arrived.” She often said if the Nazis knocked on her door and asked her to hand over the Jews, she would produce an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Maria: A nun who isn’t afraid to set out her stall and put a beer on top of it. Love it!
Hands down for Maria. Loved the beer drinking nun. She stood up to the Nazis and was murdered being firm in the faith.
“Monastic Bohemia.” Score.
“…on the table there was a glass of beer, and behind the glass was sitting a Russian nun.” Score.
“If we were true Christians, we would all wear the Star.” Game Over.
Who wouldn’t vote for that smile? And, yes, nuns can indeed be feisty!
Tell me about it. I went to a Catholic parochial school for 8 years.
Since Maria is going to win and since a powerful movie–can’t you see it–will one day be made of her compelling true-to-Christ life story, I decided again to vote for the underdog, Quiteria. After all, how often do I get the chance to vote for the leader of a guerilla girl gang? I just haven’t yet been able to envision (Black Panther notwithstanding) her movie.
Oh, yes, and I do SO want to read Scythian Shards. But if Maria goes all the way, I would have a hard time doing that with her coffee mug. I insist we get a beer stein instead. With that smile on it.
I agree! And I don’t even drink beer. But what an inspiration to see that smile no matter what was in the glass. 🙂
“Monastic Bohemia!” “Nonuplet sisterly powers combined!” Lent Madness would be worth it for the words alone…..
With apologies to Quiteria, this is a no-brainer.
A guerrilla girl gang is very cool, but I’m going for Maria with her monastic Bohemia and her beer. And, of course, giving Nazis an icon of the Virgin Mary.
For fans of Noel Coward and Beatrice Lillie: “Mad dogs and Russian nuns go out in the mid-day sun”! Seriously, though, for all my love of folk religion I had to vote for Maria Skobtsova, especially with her tradition (handing over) of the Icon!
What a great reference!
Isn’t it “mad dogs and Englishmen”? (technically) Although I’m fond of the Russian nuns variation.
Oh… that’s disappointing.
well, then…
When fascism raises it’s fear mong’ring head,
and the Bandwagon March has begun,
Dance a song of faith and wit instead,
in the steps of the good Russian nun.
Did you write that? Thanks.
Both did good things. But Maria’s contributions are well documented, while Quiteria’s are more fanciful, and I did enjoy learning about her. Voted for Maria.
When I saw the picture of the beaming nun in “full monastic clothes,” my heart was won. And my vote for Sister Maria was sealed when I read the description of her at a cafe in her Orthodox habit drinking a beer. What a woman. She seems to have been full hearted, filled with joie de vivre, and committed in a most saintly way to helping the poor and dispossessed. She intimidated her metropolitan. And she was a poet! I hope if Jeff Sessions or ICE ever knocks at my door and asks me to hand over a sanctuary activist or a Dreamer, I will produce an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. “The age of confessors has arrived”; she went beyond confessor: she was a martyr. I have not been seeking martyrs this Lent, but that’s my kind of nun.
*Like*
Amen.
There is no arguing against this logic:
“There is not only a Jewish question but a Christian question. Don’t you realize that this battle is being waged against Christianity? If we were true Christians, we would all wear the Star. The age of confessors has arrived.” She often said if the Nazis knocked on her door and asked her to hand over the Jews, she would produce an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
Maria for the win!
Perfectly said!
Very tough to vote today. I did, but didn’t want to. I guess sometimes this happens.
Maria, the Russian nun.
Maria lived out her Christianity in a way that we all might aspire to, but I for one would not have had the courage. Both women are quite worthy but somehow Maria is easier to relate to.
“If we were true Christians, we would all wear the Star.”
Megan has really unearthed some fantastic quotes. Beside the ‘no matter where you are from, I am glad you are my neighbor’ sign out front of our home (in English, Spanish and Arabic) I want one quoting Maria: ‘true Christians wear the Star of David’.
So much to love about Maria! So much to admire about the ‘icon action.’ So my vote is for Maria, a woman I had never heard of before LM! Another reason to love LM!
Maria for Golden Halo, y’all. Of all the candidates I hadn’t heard of before this year’s contest, she’s the one that’s captured my devotion. I read The Gulag Archipelago last year, so all things Bolshevik have a little extra charge for me.
In any case, Maria’s definitely getting my vote today.
Am I the only one who misses the collects being part of the daily reading after the first rounds are over? A friend of mine and I read these over the phone daily, and saying the collects aloud always invites such a reflective ending to the experience.
I agree about the collects; they have been a blessing. I too hope that Maria wins the golden halo. Besides her heroism and her care for the poor, she could enjoy a glass of beer in public in her full monastic dress (I loved the quote from the metropolitan, “I was young then and held extreme views”) and what a beautiful smile she had!
I am impressed with Maria’s comment, “Don’t you realize this battle is being waged against Christianity? We should all wear the Star of David.” Perhaps a similar battle is going on now. Should we all be taking up for the least among us, including refugees and immigrants?
I like your thinking, Isabel. What could we wear (in addition to what we d0) to show our gospel concern for refugees and immigrants?
We wore safety pins for a while to show that we were “safe” for frightened people to turn to. Maybe safety pins with something extra on them? A charm, or some beads,, or something like that?
Safety pins are still on my clothing. Nothing more is needed.
I wonder if Maria knew, met Simone Weil?
If not in reality, perhaps someone could write a story about what that meeting might have been like.
Maria’s happy face while living and working in such tumultuous times is inspiring. Her laboring alongside all of God’s people reminds me of our own Dorothy Day who was
working in company with NYC’s disenfranchised during the same era.
Yes! I’ve been thinking about Dorothy’s Day this week!
While Maria’s devotion is unquestionable, I was confused by this line in her bio, “When the Nazis took Paris, the Russian refugees living in the city were a particular target of theirs, because they were considered allies of Russia—an Allied power.”
When the Nazis took Paris, in 1940, Russia was allied with Germany. The Russians living in France may have been targeted, and they may have been friendlier to the Allied Powers (basically England, at that time), but it wasn’t because the USSR was an ally opposed to Germany.
I like Quiteria’s courageous freeing of Christian prisoners of conscious/faith. But Maria’s story is so compelling! She was what Hauerwas would call a “resident alien”–She lived fully in the world but her life pointed to a realm of peace and justice. I love the story of her saying that if the Nazis asked to her hand over Jews, she would give them a statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
I love the religious moxy in Maria! She is an excellent role model for we active,aging women.
Maria all the way!
Maria’s declaration of showing the Nazis a picture of the Virgin Mary when they asked for the Jews in the house literally brought goosebumps. So happy tomlearn about her and honor her.
Maria’s sass reminds me of the nuns at Mt. St. Scholastica in Kansas that I loved so much.
Maria is running 90% ahead of Quiteria. I am voting for Quiteria not because she is an underdog, but because she was a mighty warrior who miraculously saved her sisters. We want to be cautious not to overly denigrate the seemingly extreme legendary aspects of the early saints. God does work mysteriously.
Legend v. Human: As much as I honor and appreciate the importance of Legend in our shared Human history, I felt compelled to vote Human. The fictionalized history, Lilac Girls, is an excellent read on Ravensbruck concentration camp and those who survived.
Fought against the Nazis did it for me. The icon for Quiteria would give anyone nightmares!
I like Maria for all the excellent reasons everyone has already noted. Her life is and inspiration, but I have to admit that I was actually won over the minute I heard her establishment described as “a monastic Bohemia.”
“Legend v. human” (Ingalls above). I would have said “reality over mythology,” but it amounts to the same thing. Maria is a real, heroic saint, while Quiteria just carried her head around with her after it was cut off. Legend also says that St Cecilia’s head talked for several days after it was cut off.
Maria!! Too many “legends.” Wasn’t it in Norway that many Christians wore the yellow star – including the King?
I believe it was Denmark.
Yes, Denmark is what I remember learning.
I’m for the unapologetic beer drinker!
Maria has my vote for truly living her vocation. Today it is reality versus conjecture.
My sympathies to Quiteria, but it’s hard to see her progressing against a beer drinking russian nun who refused to be cowed by the Nazis. I love the idea of handing an icon of the Virgin Mary to those seeking Jews.
I liked Maria’s courage and her “in your face” attitude…especially the willingness to hand over the Virgin Mary icon to the Jew-hating Nazis. The legends of Quiteria are too unbelievable, something many sceptics accuse Christians of being.
Wow, these are getting harder and harder aren’t they? I love warrior women and dogs, but I hate Nazis and racism more. Had to go with Maria but it was a tough choice!
It was obvious that Maria would win this contest. But I would like to congratulate David Sibley on a GREAT second-round write-up of Quiteria. I especially appreciated her protection against rabid dogs!
Maria all the way for her commitment to justice and compassion in action for the suffering – loving everyone regardless of what “side” they’re on. Stubborn in a great way!
As the brackets turn, I’m considering who may go up against Hooker. The field of voters seem to favor the more modern and fully human saints. In 1976 or so there was a real and fully human gorilla girl gang in Mexico. Their mission was to render justice to abusive or unfaithful husbands so as to shame them publicly in the news. They also hurt them. They specialized in high profile men, but justice was also served on behalf of the less fortunate wives. In the first round, I of course, voted for Quiteria. Peter and Richard are lurking in the elate 8. Maria has so much going for her–beer, sass, that habit, the virgin, amazing wit–in the face of death–even, the star, Jews and the Holocaust. Also in the ’70’s we were the only gentile couple in a duplicate bridge group. That’s a great way to learn Jewish foods and customs and attend Bar & Bat Mitzvahs. For many years, I have publicly stated there is no good reason we should not have Hebrew school and more. Betsy wrote her thesis on survivors and works at the National Holocaust Museum and my cousin’s father-in-law is a survivor. For the last few years I’ve met and read about many survivors. My father fought in France and Germany. As will happen, eventually things come together. So I will begin my search for a star that will equal the little gold Jerusalem cross I wear that Mike brought my mother from Jerusalem. Maybe Hebrew School will be in my future. Good luck Maria.
Quiteria (& her sisters) is a fascinating figure, but Maria gets my vote for her practical Christian philanthropy.
Two women who bravely defied an oppressive regime to protect and serve their people in the name of Christ. Both were brave to the point of reckessness by staying true to their Lord. One was born after the advent of photography and modern recorded history. One lived before them. I can’t not vote for the one whose legends have inspired thousands for centuries, and whose remarkable life inspired the legends.
I have known quite a few people who are Holocaust survivors. I recently met another, who survived not one, but two different concentration camps. She came to the US after the war, and currently works in the office of her son, my 70-year-old dental surgeon. When I was there for surgery recently, she was preparing to give a talk to a group of Jewish young people. One reason she does this is to counter those who say that the Holocaust never happened. What a wonderful lady she is! I do so admire Maria, and hope to emulate her best in my own time. Thanks, as always , to our celebrity bloggers and everyone else who comments. You are helping me get through this tedious winter with renewed energy and determination.
As admirable as Quiteria is, I’ve got to go for Maria this year. She makes me look at my own life and ask what I can do.
Can I change my vote? The more comments I read, the less satisfied I was with who I voted for. Oh, well, next time I will take my time .
Love it!
Very clever, Peg S. This Maria was certainly a “problem”. She gets my vote for being a stand-up gal. The beer doesn’t hurt, either.
Maria! A wonderful example of total commitment coupled with a delightful sense of humor!
In reference to another comment I have never understood how anyone could deny the truth of the history of the haulocast. Hence, my vote for Maria. Also Quiteria’s nonet story is just too fanciful for my pragmatic mind, to say nothing of her rising from the ocean holding her own head.
I really wanted to vote for the Christian guerilla women, but Sister Maria had me when she said that if the Nazis knocked on her door and asked her to hand over the Jews, she would produce an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” Hurray for both of these courageous women!
David, the fact that your saint made it to this round was a miracle!!
What is wrong with this picture? Again!!!
Nun Maria was a true hero
David, David, you doomed Quiteria in your first paragraph! Don’t you know that this crowd won’t pass on a saint who wasn’t “real”—especially when paired with someone who’s actually been photographed! What were you thinking??
I am in awe of Maria
WOW! Maria totally beat out that poor head carrying lady! I voted for Maria because of her great works in the world and for her heroism. I never heard of her brgote; now she’s one of my new heroes!
I am new to Lent Madness and this is my first vote. Both of these saints lived their lives and indeed gave their lives fighting tyrannical regimes. Their stories inspire me to reflect on what I can do however small to stand for my values and social justice in this global society today. Despite championing both I voted for Maria. The terror, fear, and evil of Nazisism is far to real to be compared.
Welcome to the Madness.
Anyone who stood up to the Nazis gets my vote!
This is getting harder
Before reading the write-ups, I knew with absolute certainty that I would vote for Maria. But just when I thought she couldn’t possibly rise any higher in my estimation, I read this: “…on the table there was a glass of beer, and behind the glass was sitting a Russian nun in full monastic robes….”
Maria rocks.
Sr. Maria had me at the monastic Bohemia…and that was before I got to the Star of David! Linda from St. Ed’s hath said it: Maria indeed rocks. I’d like to see a golden halo in her future.
I voted for Quiteria because I thought it was cool how she came out of the water carrying her head and scaring the Roman Guards away.
If we were true Christians, we would all wear the star.
How may I do that today? Which persecuted group, and how?
If we were true Christians, we would all wear the hijab.
I think David and Scott and Tim would look silly in the hijab.
Thank you for Sr. Maria’s story. Very inspiring and courageous in her faith!