Welcome to Nominationtide!
For one full week, the Supreme Executive Committee will be accepting nominations for Lent Madness 2020. The nominating period will remain open through next Thursday morning, May 30, at which point this brief exercise in Lenten democracy will be unceremoniously snuffed out.
To insure your successful nomination, please note the Nominationtide Rules & Regulations:
- The nominee must, in fact, be dead.
- The nominee must be on the official calendar of saintly commemorations of some church.
- We will accept only one nominee per person.
- You must tell us WHY you are nominating your saint.
- The ONLY way to nominate a saint will be to leave a comment on this post.
- That means comments left on Facebook, Twitter, or attached to a brick and thrown through the window at Forward Movement headquarters, don’t count.
As you discern saints to nominate, please keep in mind that a number of saints are ineligible for next year’s “saintly smackdown.” Based on longstanding tradition, this includes the entire field of Lent Madness 2019, those saints who made it to the Round of the Elate Eight in 2018 and 2017, and those from the 2016 Faithful Four.
Needless to say Jesus, Mary, Tim, Scott, and previous Golden Halo Winners are also ineligible. Below is a comprehensive list of ineligible saints. Please keep this in mind as you submit your nominations. Do not waste your precious nomination on an ineligible saint!
The Saints of Lent Madness 2019 (all ineligible)
Nicholas of Myra
Rudolph of Gubbio
Paula of Rome
Marcella of Rome
Pandita Ramabai
Damien of Molokai
Photini
Ananais
Zenaida
Apollonia
Gobnait
Hrostsvitha
Marguerite d’Youville
Phillips Brooks
Tabitha
Dismas
Ephrem of Nisibis
Mellitus
Marina the Monk
Dominic
Richard Allen
Hanna Grier Coome
Nicodemus
James the Greater
John Chrysostom
Margaret of Cortona
Ignatius of Loyola
Tikhon of Zadonsk
William Wilberforce
Agatha Lin Zhao
Mary of Bethany
Past Golden Halo Winners (ineligible)
George Herbert, C.S. Lewis, Mary Magdalene, Frances Perkins, Charles Wesley, Francis of Assisi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Florence Nightingale, Anna Alexander, Martha of Bethany
From 2016 to 2018 (ineligible)
Constance
Julian of Norwich
Sojourner Truth
Eglantyne Jebb
Martin de Porres
Maria Skobtsova
Phocas the Gardener
Richard Hooker
Peter
Esther
Stephen
Franz Jagerstatter
Amelia Bloomer
Augustine of Canterbury
Mechtild
Raymond Nonnatus
Martin Luther
As you contemplate your nomination, you may want to take a moment to visit the Lentorium and order your very own Martha of Bethany mug. The 2019 Golden Halo winner will surely assist you in your deliberations.
And now…Let the Nominations for Lent Madness 2020 start rolling in!
I nominate Mother Theresa. Do I really have to explain why? She was awesome, she was saintly, she was flawed, she was a woman of our time.
I would like to nominate Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Episcopal seminarian (from NH)and civil rights activist. In 1965, he was murdered by a shotgun-wielding construction worker, Tom Coleman, who was a special county deputy, in Hayneville, Alabama, while in the act of shielding 17-year-old Ruby Sales.
I would like to nominate Pauli Murray. She was a civil rights activist, a pioneering feminist, a labor organizer, a lawyer, an Episcopal priest, and a writer of nonfiction, memoir, and poetry.
Murray earned a BA from Hunter College and a JD from Howard Law School. The only woman in her class, she was valedictorian and awarded a prestigious Rosenwald fellowship for postgraduate study–only to be denied admission to her first choice, Harvard University, because of her gender. She earned a master’s at the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, and became the first black woman to earn a PhD in juridical science from Yale Law School. She also earned a master’s in divinity from the General Theological Seminary.
Murray was a leader in the fight against racism and sexism and worked as a labor organizer. She was a founding member of the Congress for Racial Equality and the National Organization for Women. She laid the intellectual foundations for the civil rights and feminist movements.
In her ’60s, Murray was the first woman ordained as an Episcopal priest. She served as a priest for eight years
Murray was gender nonconforming, describing herself as “a girl who should have been a boy.”
Murray died on July 1, 1985, of pancreatic cancer. Since her death, she has been named a saint by the Episcopal Church.
I nominate Saint Patrick. He was enslaved by the Irish and escaped, and yet later returned to bring Christ to the Irish people. What better example of loving your enemies?
I second the nomination of St. Patrick, the British Apostle to the Irish and the Father of Celtic Christianity. The two texts attributed to him (His Confession and his Letter to Coroticus) reveal that he was a mystic and a prophet, a man of deep prayer and political action. He may be the first Christian (if not the first person in history) to speak out against slavery. Also, this last Lent his feast day fell on the Second Sunday in Lent, which inspired my congregation to sing the official Lent Madness hymn during our procession. So this nomination of St. Patrick includes a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sISguBq-X48
St. Aidan of Lindisfarne is my nominee. He was a monk, and a bishop, and is responsible for restoring Christianity to many parts of northern England. But he also helped the poor, built churches and schools, and tried to improve the lives of all he met.
I nominate Oscar Romero. He was a bookish introvert who was expected to go along with injustice, who found and showed extraordinary courage on behalf of his people.
I nominate Brother Lawrence. His “The Practice of the Presence of God” was a God-send to me as a young mother and homemaker. He helped me see the joy and worth of those constantly undone menial chores, and after 50 years at them, I find he still inspires and reassures me that these tasks have value and praise God just as much as do high-flying sermons and deeds.
His amusing account of how God instructed him in patience has also helped me tolerate prickly students and neighbors.
Brother Lawrence is one of those saints I look forward to meeting one day.
Perhaps he will follow Martha to next year’s Golden Crown.
St. Andrew the Apostle. Brother of St. Peter, one of the first chosen by Jesus Christ to follow him; and do I have to say more? He is the one of my two Patron Saints who meets all the criteria established here. (The other one is St Raphael the Archangel, but since we don’t know if he factually is dead he might be ineligible. St. Andrew the Apostle definitely is!)
I nominate Jean Vanier who began L’Arche and died in the last few weeks. He was an amazing example of the acceptance with which people with disabilities should be treated and is generally admired.
I love this idea of recognizing someone who worked on affecting positively the lives of people living with disabilities and look forward to learning more about Jean Vanier whether as part of Lent Madness or at another time.
Saint Warren 1159 latin name Guarinus, an illustrious cardinal, Bishop of Palestrina and a member of the Order of Saint Augustine.
Warren was my father’s name, and is also the first name of a dear friend who is such a gift to the world in many ways, that made me wonder if there was a Saint Warren. And I would love to learn more about him via Lent Maddness.
I nominate St. Florian, patron saint of firefighters, Austria, and brewers. Who could resist a beer with a firefighter in an Austrian bar?
I nominate Pauli Murray – for civil rights, social justice, ordination of women, and because “hope is a song in a weary throat.”
Edith Cavell. English nurse during WWI. Took care of English and German wounded. Executed for helping wounded prisoners escape. From Norwich. She was on the list a couple of years ago. Shrine and grave are at Norwich Cathedral. Namesake pub across from the cathedral.
I second this nomination of Edith Cavell! There is a mountain named for her in Canada, on the beautiful highway from Banff-Lake Louise to Jasper National Park. Nurse Cavell was reprsented in Sir Esme Wingfield Stratton’s “History of British Civilisation” with her words, “Patriotism is not enough.” A thought worth pondering today.
Read this as helping wounded prisoners escape from Norwich. I’ll have to adopt her as my patron saint! 😉
I nominate St. Katherine Drexel
I nominate Saint Hubert. Nobleman wrapped up in himself who was converted to Christ when hunting of Good Friday and was spoken to by a stag with a crucifix between its antlers. Hubert was converted and went out converting. He is patron of hunters. He is also patron of dogs.
I second this nomination. This story is a conflation of an earlier story of St. Eustace, an Italian who was also converted by a stag.
Elizabeth of Thuringia/Hungary
We need some more complex hagiography and franciscan goodness
Georges Lemaître – originator of the Big Bang theory and priest. In a time where science is almost quite literally on assault, perhaps it would be good to celebrate someone who sought to understand the intersection of science and religion.
Yes, would love to know more about him, but is he on anyone’s official calendar of saints in order to qualify?
(A Lent Madness requirement that I’ve come to think of as the Mister Rogers Rule 😉
I nominate JRR Tolkein because he made complex spiritual truths accessible to the general public through his works, even though he denies it. He was also a great friend and mentor to CS Lewis (our former Golden Halo winner).
She was a philanthropist and worked to help minorities. Native Americans and Black people are only two of the groups I can think of right now.
Who are you nominating?
It was St. Katherine Drexel. (Not my nomination)
I nominate the English cleric & poet, John Donne. He was Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral up until the time of his death, and recognised as one of the leading metaphysical poets. He is probably most famous for his poem “Death be not proud.”
I was going to nominate John Donne too, so here is an enthusiastic “seconded” from me!
I should like to third the nomination of John Donne, having just read “John Donne and his World” by Derek Parker.
I’m in with a “fourth!” His “A Hymn to God the Father” in the setting of #140 in The Episcopal Hymnal 1982 is my favorite Lenten hymn. I’ve been hooked on Donne since reading the poem in high school and delighting in his wordplay.
Saint Gertrude of Nivelles – she bucked the system by refusing to marry (at age 10!) opting instead to open a monastery whe she became a scholar, helped widows orphans
I nominate St. Alban. Patron saint of refugees and come on, making your executioner’s eyes pop out is pretty special!
I nominate St. Jude Thaddeus. He is the patron saint of hopeless causes, and our world needs hope!
I nominate Isaac Watts. He was a hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. He is recognized as the “Godfather of English Hymnody”; many of his hymns remain in use today and have been translated into numerous languages. He wrote the hymn “O God, Our Help in Ages Past” the official hymn of Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, of which I am a double grad–BA and JD–and he died on my birthday exactly 200 years before I was born. It happened to be Thanksgiving Day the year I was born. He and I therefore have a very special connection.
Admit it; you’ve said it. St. Anthony, St. Anthony please come down. Something’s lost that must be found. I nominate St. Anthony.
Nope. Never said it.
I nominate Anne Frank who died in died at age 15 in a concentration camp in 1945. Her famous diary was found and published around the world. The Jewish community does not recognize sainthood but she inspired me to see that most people are good even though she was persecuted for being a Jew and had her young brilliant life taken from her.
I nominate H. Baxter Liebler, who is on the calendar of commemorations of the Anglican Third Order Society of St. Francis (tssf.org). I nominate him to honor his exemplary life of service in humility, love and joy. The Reverend Harold Baxter Liebler established a mission to the Navajo Indians at Bluff, Utah in 1943 named St. Christopher’s. He worked there until his retirement in the middle 1960s. In a log-constructed cabin, the mission was the first medical facility to treat tuberculosis and trachoma among the Navajo in Utah. Fr. Liebler was known as endeshoodii to the Navajos—“One whose robe drags on the ground.” He wore his hair in the traditional Navajo bun and learned to pray and lead worship in Navajo. Liebler’s mission to the Navajo Indians did not end upon his retirement. Instead, he moved into the Monument Valley area of Arizona and established the Hat Rock Valley Retreat Center and St. Mary’s of the Moonlight chapel. He resided in Monument Valley, until his death in 1982. Liebler, even though operating this new religious site, was still intricately involved at St. Christopher’s. He was asked to fill both short- and long-term vacancies on many occasions after his so called retirement. He also published a memoir of his work, Boil My Heart for Me, in 1969. This information was compiled from the TSSF Devotional Companion (https://tssf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Devotional-Companion-2015-Rev-3.Verleah.pdf); Archives West of the Orbis Cascade Alliance (http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv38824); and Amazon (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0874804647/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0)
Florence Li Tim-Oi, the first woman ordained priest in the Anglican Communion. She is commemorated in (at least) the Anglican Church of Canada (on her proper feast day, the anniversary of her death) and in The Episcopal Church (inexplicably, on the anniversary of her priesting).
Hers is an heroic story of courage and of hope in the face of despair.
But mostly you should nominate her because she is the Saint I knew.
In her latter years, she lived in Toronto. When I was at Trinity College, there was this nice little old Chinese lady who came to chapel. It was some time later I discovered who she was.
You see, in their earthly life, one can’t see their haloes.
My son is a firefighter. I nominate St. Florian, the patron saint for firefighters.
Piux XII
For his secret network of spies and war against Hitler.
I would like to nominate St. Clare of Assisi. To me she was a very strong, devoted woman who followed her faith throughout her earthly life, established the Order of Poor Ladies and in writing their Rule of Life is considered to be the first woman to write a set of monastic guidelines.
Elizabeth of Hungary
Because we share a name, I bought an icon of her in Budapest and want to know more about her.
I nominate St. Anna the Prophet, the first to proclaim the Good News. She is almost tragically under-appreciated.
As I belong to the Society of St. Anna the Prophet, I couldn’t agree more.
I would like to nominate Archbishop Janani Luwum, who spoke truth to power (Idi Amin) and was martyred for it in 1977. An Anglican friend from Uganda recently lamented to me that Luwum’s story is not being told in the church there and young people are not learning about his faith and courage.
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/janani-luwum
I nominate St. Wilfrid of the Saxons. He was instrumental in establishing a whole line of monasteries and communities utilizing St. Benedict’s Rule. If any one establish Benedictine thought into England in the 600s it was St. Wifrid. Many attribute to St. Augustine of Canterbury Benedictine monasticism. This is not really true. He along with his overlord Pope Gregory the Great were fascinated with the new concepts of Benedictine monasticism but were not apart of his order.
Evelyn Underhill…
Anglo Catholic lay woman, mystic, pacifist. What’s not to like?!
Brendan the Navigator
He sailed in a boat to Paradise, and his cross is made of dolphins. If that is not enough, I cannot imagine what is. A wonderful eccentric who was deeply faithful would be a great addition.
I nominate Maximilian Kolbe. He was a polish Franciscan friar imprisoned at Auschwitz who volunteered to die by starvation in place of a fellow prisoner with a family. His writings and story never cease to inspire.
The Rev. Fred Rogers. His humble, caring attitude and short lessons each day, televised all over America and parts of the greater world, remain invaluable to children everywhere. Many of us grew up with Mr. Rogers, every weekday, showing kids (and adults!) how to be gentle and caring with each other.He showed us diversity, and how to confront and deal with things that frightened us. The Presbyterian Church has recognized this man and his work, and had set aside a day that he should be remembered.
St. Herman of Alaska. He’s a saint in the American Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. The patron saint of North America and beloved by both Native peoples and Russian immigrants to Alaska. What more do you want?
I nominate Anne Frank who died in died at age 15 in a concentration camp in 1945. Her famous diary was found and published around the world. The Jewish community does not recognize sainthood but she inspired me to see that most people are good even though she was persecuted for being a Jew and had her young brilliant life taken from her.
I nominate Harry Holt–an Oregon pear grower and lumberman who learned of the plight of half American, half Korean orphans left in Korea after American troops went home from the Korean war. He and his wife, Bertha, (who also could be nominated) spent all their time and resources after that to aid these orphans and established an agency that now, world wide, has placed thousands of children in “forever homes” as well as adopting eight children to join their family of five. Harry,whose health was not good, died in Korea after rescuing yet another baby. Bertha continued with Holt International well into her 90s.
Forgot to say Harry Holt is venerated in churches in Korea.
I nominate Florence Li Tim-Oi, who was a woman of extraordinary courage, humility, and devotion. She endured the dangers of war, the challenges of priesthood, and the frustrations of church politics, demonstrating always grace and love for God and humanity.
She’s a great nominee! If I hadn’t already done mine, I would second her!
St. John XXIII revolutionized the Catholic Church through Vatican II. His emphasis on inclusion and pastoral care continue today. In addition, as Bishop of Bulgaria, he shielded Jews from Hitler’s persecution.
Jarena Lee – Licensed to preach in the AME in 1819. She traveled throughout the US—risking her own life and freedom to preach. Her bravery and dedication to her call (especially after it was initially denied by Richard Allen) is inspiring.
I nominate Margery Kempe. She wrote what was possibly the first autobiography in the English language, describing the visions she had after the birth of her son, pilgrimages she went on to Italy, Jerusalem, and Germany, and the many many accusations of heresy her public speaking and displays attracted.
Huldrych (Ulrich) Zwingli is my nominee. Besides his emphasis on the gospel and his role in the Reformation, he’d be fun:
1. His name is cool; it “zvings.”
2. He secretly married, then married publicly after preaching against the rule of celibacy for priests.
3. He and Luther had a falling out over the Eucharist, in which Luther saw Jesus as present and Zwingli saw symbolism of the Last Supper.
4. He opposed veneration of saints, so his nomination would be truly ironic.
Cleopas is my nominee. “Did not our hearts burn within us?” It is well that we learn about and think about matters of faith so that we can speak of faith to others, as did Cleopas and the other disciple. Good information lacks life and may only end with more questions than answers without our awareness of the movement of the Spirit within us and our sense of Christ’s enduring relationship with us. “Did not our hearts burn within us.” the moment when all he knew transformed into all he became for Cleopas.
I nominate Dorothy Day. Here are a few reasons: https://www.catholicworker.org/dorothyday/dd-interesting-facts.html.
I nominate St. Hubert the Hunter. He is the patron of metalworkers and my daughter is a metalworker. That is my logic in nominating him. Check him out on the wiki.
I nominate the Rev. James Solomon Russell. Born in slavery, he educated himself, became a priest, and rose to become archdeacon in the diocese of Southern Virginia. He rode around on horseback, establishing churches for black people throughout southern Virginia. He founded 37 churches, plus St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, VA. He was appointed suffragan bishop in Alabama, and in North Carolina but refused each offer, both because the job would only allow him to be bishop of black people, and because it would remove him from his church planting work in Virginia. He has an incredible legacy, and he’s hardly remembered.
I nominate Mechthild de Magdeburg. Because she said, “Stupidity is sufficient unto itself. Wisdom can never learn enough.”
Her thoughts on compassion are perfect for America in 2019.
“If you love the justice of Jesus Christ more than you fear human judgment then you will seek to do compassion. Compassion means that if I see my friend and my enemy in equal need, I shall help them both equally. Justice demands that we seek and find the stranger, the broken, the prisoner and comfort them and offer them our help. Here lies the holy compassion of God that causes the devils much distress.”
St Herman of Alaska was a gentle monk of great compassion who came to Alaska from Russia at about the time of the American Revolution. He defended the Inuit women who were taken as concubines by Russian fur traders. Even today the Inuits simply call him “Father Herman”.
Hildegard von Bingen, known as the first extant female composer, started her own convent, preached throughout her area, taught holistic living, encouraged sustainable living. “I am a feather on the breath of God.”
Christina Mirabilis (the Astonishing), c. 1150-1226, vita by Thomas of Cantimpre
Born to a modestly well-to-do family; with her two sisters, orphaned when Christina was still quite young. Died 2.5 times (the last time definitively), given a grand tour of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven in the first instance before being asked by God if she would prefer to remain dead and achieve salvation, or return to the land of the living and perform penitential acts of suffering to alleviate the miseries experienced by other souls. She lived on the margins of society in Flanders (mod. Belgium) for decades, and subjected her body to various torments. She could fly to treetops and castle parapets; she could bend her body into the shape of a hoop during her ecstasies. She begged alms, stole from people, plunged her body into fiery ovens and freezing rivers, hanged herself from gallows in sympathetic suffering with criminals bound for execution, but was also a consoler of the dying. Also predicted crusade losses, famines, and knew where each soul was destined after death. As the final clincher, subject of a New Yorker fiction piece in 2017; her life was also the basis for an episode of Nurse Jackie on Showtime, and Australinan rocker Nick Cave wrote a weird song about her.
Seconded!
I nominate St Barbara. Locked in a tower, converted, was decapitated by her pagan father who promptly was killed by lightning, causing the whole town to become Christian…. also may have been an early feminist by saying she would not be the property of any man…
I nominate Thersa of Avila. She has the most beautiful prayers that speak straight to my heart: “Christ has no body now, but yours. No hands, no feet on earth, but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks compassion into the world. Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world.” and “May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.” Theresa has a message for the people of God living today.
I nominate Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Martyr, 1965. It is important to know that there are modern day saints and this could also honor those who have shielded others in the horrific mass shootings that are taking place now. Plus, I came to know of Jonathan when Scott suggested him as a possibility when renaming our church in East Providence, RI.
Yes! I second this! Jonathan Myrick Daniels for his witness and sacrifice.
I’m a huge fan of Jonathan Daniels! I’ve been to the annual pilgrimage in Hayneville, Alabama, twice with high school kids from the Diocese of New York. I’ve nominated him before, but was so disappointed when he wasn’t chosen I went another way this year (to Alaska).
I nominate Fred Rogers. If he is not on a saintly list somewhere he should be. This man made the world a safer and kinder place for children and parents. He is a great example of a modern saint.
Seconded.
Yep. The Presbyterian Church approved an overture “to observe a memorial time for the Reverend Fred M. Rogers” at its General Assembly. The rationale for the recognition of Rogers reads, “The Reverend Fred Rogers, a member of the Presbytery of Pittsburgh, as host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood since 1968, had a profound effect on the lives of millions of people across the country through his ministry to children and families. Mister Rogers promoted and supported Christian values in the public media with his demonstration of unconditional love. His ability to communicate with children and to help them understand and deal with difficult questions in their lives will be greatly missed.”[
Aha! He is recognized and remembered by the Presbyterians! Saint Fred of the Neighborhood qualifies!
I would like to say it would be great to see the Rev. Fred Rodgers square off with my earlier nominee of Joshua Son on Nunn in the finals.
I nominate the Menningers, on the Episcopal liturgical calendar for March 6. They were faithful Episcopalians but my nomination is based upon the changes that occurred in medicine, particularly in psychiatric medicine, as a result of their efforts. Human dignity was preserved and the gift of a full life returned to so many.
I nominate Copernicus. He is a reminder that ALL of God’s creation is good and sacred. He unveiled some of the beauty of the skies. And he is a reminder that God and science offer mutual illumination.
Oh, he has quite the story behind how he went from being born Jewish in Eastern Europe to being an Episcopal missionary Bishop in China. (He was a contestant in a previous edition of Lent Madness.)
Ugh, this reply was suppose to go to the comment below by Joyce about Bishop Scherschewsky. And I can’t delete it. Sigh.
I feel your pain. I wish you could edit and delete these things!
14 Joseph Schereschewsky, Bishop of Shanghai, 1906. No particular reason except his day October 14 is my birthday and his name is hard to spell. I also wonder about his being the Bishop of Shanghai. He must have done something great in China.
Oh, he has quite the story behind how he went from being born Jewish in Eastern Europe to being an Episcopal missionary Bishop in China. (He was a contestant in a previous edition of Lent Madness.)
St. Julie Billiart. Though she was well-educated, she had to take up manual labor when her family lost their money. She used her time working to teach the faith to her fellow workers. She became paralyzed at 30 due to the trauma of an attack she witnessed against her father. Even from bed, she continued to teach the faith. She barely survived the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution, and had to be smuggled out in a hay cart. She eventually even temporarily lost the ability to speak due to the trauma. Together with Françoise Blin de Bourdon, she founded the Institute of Notre Dame to educate poor, young women and the order of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. That same year, she was cured of her paralysis. She is known as the Smiling Saint, because despite all her hardships and even when she could not speak, she smiled during prayers.
I nominate Villana delle Botti (1332-1361), who was venerated as a saint for her moderate piety at a time when most women saints were venerated for their extreme asceticism (c.f. Catherine of Siena). By contrast, Villana was a wife and mother whose life of piety was a ray of hope for other married women who struggled with their own spirituality in a culture that favored virginity and poverty.
I nominate Margaret of Castello!-a person with disabilities born to parents who cannot believe their child is not perfect and hidden away from the world. Abandoned by those parents when a visit to a Franciscan shrine for healing in Castello does not immediate remedy the disabilities. Homeless, she was embraced by the people in Castello and ultimately brought into a Dominican community where she studied and worked within ministries and lived life in the fullness of God.
I nominate St. Florian.
During rehab of my 3rd floor I noticed burned wall beams but not the roof. While volunteer secretary for the Salem City NJ Union Fire Company I read in their November 30, 1868 minutes: “Made a (firefighting) run down Oak Street to the unfinished Nicholson house.”
Our Victorian home had caught fire during construction and put out by the volunteers of Union Fire Company and St. Florian.
I would like to nominate St John Vianney aslo known as he Cure d’Ar.
John Vianney had a tough time learning but kept at it and was ordained a priest. I taught kids who had learning issues and have seen many of them grow up to be successful adults. Some are teachers one is a school administrator and one has won the writers guild award more than once (he writes for ABC news and I taught him remedial writing!) I am dyslectic and was a Reading/Writing teacher! Those who struggle can achieve!
I nominate Saint Brendan of Clonfert. One of the 12 apostles of Ireland. Also known as Brendan the Navigator. He spread the good news and he has great name!
I just returned from my first visit to the Czech Republic, where I learned about my nominee, Saint Ludmila. She and her husband, the first Christian Duke of Bohemia, worked to convert Bohemia to Christianity. She raised, and acted as regent for, her grandson Saint Wenceslaus (of Good King Wenceslaus fame). Her daughter-in-law had her murdered because she was jealous of her influence. She is venerated by the Orthodox and Roman Catholics and is the patron saint of Bohemia, the Czech Republic, converts, duchesses, widows, and problems with in-laws.
I nominate The Venerable Bede. He is considered the “Father of English History”. His ecumenical writings were extensive and included a number of Biblical commentaries and other theological works of exegetical erudition. Another important area of study for Bede was the academic discipline of computus, otherwise known to his contemporaries as the science of calculating calendar dates. One of the more important dates Bede tried to compute was Easter, an effort that was mired with controversy. He also helped establish the practice of dating forward from the birth of Christ (Anno Domini – in the year of our Lord), a practice which eventually became commonplace in medieval Europe. Bede was one of the greatest teachers and writers of the Early Middle Ages and is considered by many historians to be the single most important scholar of antiquity for the period between the death of Pope Gregory I in 604 and the coronation of Charlemagne in 800.
Jonathan Daniels, an Episcopal seminarian killed August 20, 1965, aged 26, in Haynesville, Alabama. He was working in the civil rights movement, and he jumped in front of a shotgun blast that had been aimed at his 17-year-old African-American friend, Ruby Sales. He laid down his life for his friends, literally and completely. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Daniels which says he’s “venerated” in TEC and the Anglican Communion.
I nominate St. Francis Solano (16th century). He was a Franciscan friar who practiced strict habits of poverty. After much ministry in Spain, he was sent to South America where he was an effective evangelist among the indigenous peoples. He has a wonderful church and monastery dedicated to him in Lima Peru. One tale of his life is that he entered a gathering one Christmas Eve and played his fiddle with such joy that soon everybody there was dancing and celebrating. I am nominating him in memory of my sister who used to enjoy Lent Madness but who died in December 2018. She loved St. Francis Solano, and I hope they’re dancing and celebrating together in heaven!
I nominate Vida Dutton Scudder, Educator and Witness for Peace, celebrated in the Episcopal church on October 10. She taught literature at Wellesley College and supported striking textile workers in 1912, stating: “I would rather never again wear a thread of woolen than know my garments had been woven at the cost of such misery as I have seen and known past the shadow of a doubt to have existed in this town. … If the wages are of necessity below the standard to maintain man and woman in decency and in health, then the woolen industry has not a present right to exist in Massachusetts.”
I nominate Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles. Nuff said.
But I love her next to Martha of Bethany.
Mary deserves the Golden Halo no less!
I nominate Paul of Tarsus, the original badass Christian.
( if my nomination of Mary Magdalene was posted, I take it back – poor reading on my part!
I nominate Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard’s deep spirituality was bound in mystical experience, visions and sound theology. She was able to work with people at a deep spiritual level as a musician and healer, integrating organic and spiritual medical practices that are still credible to this day. Hildegard’s spirituality was so profound that she was respected by the male ecclesiastical structure of her time. Her ability to present spiritual reality in a receivable way is a voice crying in the wilderness to the force that is used today for social change. Hildegard’s work was transformational beyond the level of social work on the egoic level which direction the church of today has seemed to attach itself (I am a Master’s level licensed social worker so I see this from the inside). Hildegard worked with people from the inside out, not merely the outside in. Her inner work was the source of transformation for the multitudes.
I nominate Thomas Cranmer, slightly squidgy, politician and martyr. He exemplifies the best of Christianity, which is overcoming our human imperfections through faith. He is the father of the Book of Common Prayer, the great compromise between public acclamation and private belief.
I nominate Ted Howden, and Episcopal Chaplain during WWII. He ministered to all with whom he was imprisoned, and was an example of how Christians should live. We celebrate him annually in the Diocese of the Rio Grande.
I nominate Sr. Dorothy Mae Stang. I learned of Sr. Dorothy’s work with the poor people of the Brazilian Amazon while listening to a podcast about her assassination at the hands of wealthy land owners. A citizen of Brazil and the United States, Sister Dorothy worked with the Pastoral Land Commission, an organization of the Catholic Church that fights for the rights of rural workers and peasants, and defends land reforms in Brazil. Before her murder, Sister Dorothy was named “Woman of the Year” by the state of Para for her work in the Amazon region. She also received the Humanitarian of the Year award from the Brazilian Bar Association for her work helping the local rural workers. She is venerated in the Catholic church with a 5 day Novena and has been formally recognized by the Vatican as a modern day martyr.
I would like to nominate St. Jean de Brebeuf. St. Jean was a 17th Century Jesuit and Missionary who ministered to the Wendat Nation in New France. He was a highly skilled linguist, learning the Wendat language and culture and then teaching it to other missionaries and fur traders. St. Jean used parallels in Wendat spirituality and culture to teach the Gospel to the Wendat people. During his time in New France de Brebeuf was caught in the middle of fighting between the Wendat and Haudenosaunee and was captured, tortured and martyred by Haudenosaunee warriors in 1649. St. Jean de Brebeuf is credited with writing the hymn ‘Twas Moon in Wintertime” a.k.a. “The Huron Carol.”
I nominate Saint Drogo of Sebourg (March 14, 1105– April 16, 1186, also known as Dreux, Drugo, and Druron). His mother, a Flemish noblewoman, died when he was born and his father, and before adulthood he also lost his father. He gave away his inherited wealth to become a monk. As a young man, he acquired a disease so disfiguring he was shut up in his monastic cell, though he could supposedly appear in two places at once, which he used to attend mass while also working. His horrible appearance made him the patron saint of people who are not attractive to others and he is also (for what reason I don’t know) the patron of coffee houses. One of those patronages may endear him to Scott and Tim.
Here’s a good article on him: https://www.crisismagazine.com/2015/rediscovering-saint-drogo-sebourg
I nominate Thurgood Marshall. At a time in our country when Justice for people of color is still not a reality, I think he would make a fine candidate for Golden Halo.
St Aiden
Can you tell us why?
Although an Irishman, he established the Priory at Lindisfarne and was the first Bishop of the area. He introduced Christianity to Northern Great Britain.
I would like to nominate Pauli Murray. She was the first African American woman priest, and a trailblazer in many ways. She wrote a critique of Plessy v. Ferguson that became the basis for Brown v. Board of Education. She wrote the constitution of Ghana. She considered herself what we now call gender fluid, or non-binary – she used the word “mixies” to refer to her mixed-race and mixed-gender identities.
She was an amazing person.
I nominate Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat and convert to the Russian Orthodox Church who saved the lives of thousands of Lithuanian Jews by using his diplomatic post to issue vast numbers of exit visas, enabling them to flee to safety from the Nazi regime. When his government was silent, refusing to provide authorization or guidance, he took matters into his own hands, and is quoted as saying that he might be disobeying his government, but to ignore the plight of the Jews would be disobeying God. When he was called back to Japan, he famously continued writing visas even as his train pulled out of the station, flinging papers from the windows. After returning to Japan, he was forced to resign his position and struggled to support his family, and received little recognition until very late in life when his deeds were brought to light by the survivors he saved, but he always maintained that he had no regrets about what he had done. The estimate of lives saved by his actions ranges from 4,000 to 10,000. I would love to see him honored with a spot in next year’s bracket, so that more people can learn his story.
St. Damiano, because the only thing I know about him/her/them is something to do with
St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi.
The most righteous man in the Bible: Abimelech of Gerar. Thinking Sarah was Abraham’s sister, he attempted to take her as a wife. He did it with “integrity in his heart and innocence of his hands.” When warned by God that she was indeed Abraham’s wife, he was entirely repentant. He strove in every way possible to make amends with God and Abraham.
Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, first ordained woman, 1870 by the Congregational Church in upstate New York. Struggled for a seminary education, sister in law to Elizabeth Blackwell, first woman doctor. Part of the woman’s sufferage movement. UCC does not have a “list of saints” but at General Synod every two years, there is the Antoinette Brown Blackwell award given…that is about as good as it gets for “formal” recognition.
I nominate Florence Li Tim Oi. First woman ordained in the Anglican Communion, she stepped up to serve the people, the Church, and Jesus in China when no men would do so.
I did not know that Tim and Scott were dead
May they rest in peace.
I nominate ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE, the Polish priest who took the place of a condemned prisoner in a concentration camp. they don’t come much more noble than that.
I nominate Saint Nino of Georgia. Evangelizing the country of Georgia as a teenage girl is a pretty awesome feat…
An enthusiastic second! St. Nino/Nina of Georgia was known as “the Christian” or “La Chrétienne” and is the patron saint of an order of Roman Catholic sisters whose motherhouse is in Metz, France. They taught in several communities in New England in the 20th cent. and I attended their school in Salem, MA for 12 years.
St Rita of Cascia
Re St. Anthony, another version that I have heard is: Tony, Tony Listen, listen Hurry, hurry Somethings missin’
I nominate St. Rose of Lima, patron saint of embroiderers and lacemakers, gardeners and florists, Latin America and indigenous peoples of the Americas. She also protects against vanity.
St. Kateri Tekakwitha is my nominee. She may have been nominated before, but I think the first Native American saint deserves a place in the bracket
My last post was just a comment. I would like to nominate Kateri Tekakwitha, an Algonquin-mohawk born near Auriesville NY in 1656. She was converted to Christianity by Jesuit missionaries and was given the baptismal name of Catherine. She was known as “the Lily of the Mohawks” and is the first North American Indigenous woman to be canonized.
St Andre Bessette! A humble, gentle, and underrated saint! His story is awesome and many miracles have been performed through his intercession!
I nominate St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury. He was in the 2010 Lent Madness race against St. Peter. It is time for him to run again and show his true colors. The miracle of the candles with his mother Cynethryth, the miracle of the king being saved from plummeting over the cliffs of Cheddar, and the fact that both the devil and the angels appeared to him are reason enough for him to claim the Golden Halo. But he also brought back to life monasticism in a country that was in a sad and ravaged condition. He was a great councilor to several kings and served both the spiritual and the temporal well-being of the English people in a very dark time in their history. Thank you for considering St. Dunstan for the 2020 Lent Madness competition.
Anna, you beat me to it! So I second your motion for St. Dunstan! And may I add….
Dunstan is remembered as the patron saint of bell ringers and blacksmiths; legend has it that he once grabbed the devil by the nose with his blacksmith tongs. He is referenced in Dickens’ *A Christmas Carol*.
Here is the opening of a song our choir sang for Dunstan’s feast day (to the tune of “Life Upon the Wicked Stage” from “Show Boat”):
“In his early life St. Dunstan chose to lead a life monastic.
Even so, he did some things that really seem to be fantastic.
When the devil asked him to do wrong
St. Dunstan tweaked him with hot tongs and …. (It goes on for three verses!)
For kitsch, you’ve got a video game (Runescape) where Dunstan is a scary-looking character;
* a plainsong psalter named after him;
* a book called *The True Legend of St. Dunstan and the Devil: How the Horse-Shoe Came to Be a Charm Against the Devil*;
* blacksmith tongs, bellows, or even a Cuisinart grill tool set (including tongs, of course);
* a 27-piece set of copper handbells (covers the metallurgical and musical aspects of his life story!)
You could pit him against Lucy of Syracuse, the patron saint of glassblowers, or against St. Iranaeus, his ecclesiastical counterpart in France (primate of the Gauls).
St. Dunstan in 2020!
St. Christopher is my suggestion. This saint, like Nicholas of Myra, has been done ill by the institutional church, and I would like to see recognition given.
I nominate Queen Emma of Hawai’i, who came as a runner-up to Golden Halo winner Mary Magdalene in 2012. She and her husband, King Kamehameha IV, adopted the Anglican/Episcopalian faith, and it was that faith that resonated with her Hawaiian spirituality as well as gave her the inspiration to truly serve those of her people who were on the margins of society. She founded hospitals and schools by literally going door-to-door, cap in hand, for donations. She even traveled to London to meet Queen Victoria in her quest to secure enough funds to help those of the indigenous Hawaiian population who were impoverished and suffering from non-native diseases like Hansen’s Disease (leprosy), small pox, and herpes.
St. Dominic Savio. His piety and innocence are inspirational, as well as his dedication to holiness and Sainthood. He is a loyal advocate for students and young people. His example of devotion and faith are worthy of rememberance.
Deconess Harriet Bedell, missionary to the Cheyenne in Oklahoma, Alaska Natives, and the Seminole of Florida. She worshipped at my parish – St Stephen’s Episcopal, Coconut Grove FL – and, although officially retired by the Board of Missions at age 72, she arranged for the Glades mission to be funded by the parish in 1943 and continued her ministry well into her 80s. At the encouragement of the Bishop, 85-year-old Deaconess Bedell entered the Bishop Gray Inn in Davenport, where she lived until she was 94, recruiting missionaries, teaching Sunday School and working in the infirmary for many years.
I nominate Thomas More, who defied Henry VIII and refused to sign the oath acknowledging Anne Boleyn as Queen and Henry as head of the Church in England. This ultimately cost him his life. I admire the way he stuck by his beliefs (that Catherine was Queen and that Parliament had no authority to name Henry head of the Church).
St Joseph, father of our Lord, is my pick for many reasons – faithful obedience to God, love and care of Mary and Jesus, and patron saint of fathers. He is an excellent example for step parents, and he is a favour saint of mine in prayer.
What if your altar guild discovered that hidden away in your sacristy was the Holy Grail? How can ordinary people handle the holiness of the relic and the potential for evil that such divine connection can engender. Way before Indiana Jones his screens, Charles Williams explored these themes, which is why I nominate him to Lent Madness 2020.
Williams, the “forgotten Inkling” was a contemporary and friend of C.S. Lewis, and was one of the band of writers (along with Dorothy Sayers and JRR Tolkien) who met regularly in Oxford. A novelist, poet, playwright, and theologian, he was a prolific writer. He is particularly known for his reflections on the connection between romantic love and divine love. He believed that in romantic love, we catch a glimpse of the ideal person in the one we love, see a little bit of what God sees in us, which draws us into deeper relationship with both the beloved person and also the person of God. His imaginative novels explored the connections between the divine and everyday human experience. A common theme in his work is what he called “co-inherence,” a term used in Patristic theology that describes the relationship between the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ and the relationship between the persons of the blessed Trinity. Using images of magic (Many Dimensions, 1931), Platonic archetypes (The Place of the Lion, 1931), ghosts, demons, and dopplegangers (Decent into Hell, 1937), he asks “what if” the realities of the spirit broke into the everyday existence. Of course, this points us to the power and the purpose of the Incarnation and the depths of the Holy Trinity. In my opinion, he would be a worthy addition to the saintly smackdown and with flights of imagination, the clash of divine and dark powers, and the power of love would leave all others in the bracket in the dust.
Mother Eva Matthews, Founder of the Community of the Transfiguration. She traveled to the Holy land in the late 19th century and was inspired by the women there. She had a diaconal heart and took care of infants in the city of Cincinnati, bringing them to the ‘country’ for fresh air. The legacy of her community includes ministries in Japan, China, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Lincoln Heights (Cincinnati) and Butler Ohio, in addition to the Mother House in Glendale Ohio.
I nominate Bishop Desmond Tutu for his work heading up the reconciliation program in South Africa. The transition to Black-led government could have been divisive and bloody.
The Archbishop is not qualified. He is not on any calendar of commemoration. This is probably because he is also disqualified for being alive.
Saint Laura of Cordoba was a Spanish Christian who lived in Muslim Spain during the 9th century. Quite a story.
I would like to nominate King Kamehameha because of the great work bringing Christ and dignity to the Hawaiian Islands.
I nominate Paul Carlson. Doctor Carlson was a missionary doctor working in the Democratic Republic of Congo under the auspices of the World Missions Department of the Evangelical Covenant Church. In 1964 he was captured by the Simba rebels, taken to Stanleyville, and held for several months. When Belgian paratroopers were dropped on the city to liberate the hostages, he was shot by the Simbas as he helped another hostage escape over a wall. The Paul Carlson Project of the Evangelical Covenant Church carries on medical work in the Congo in his memory. I believe he meets all the criteria for inclusion in Lent Madness with one possible exception: because the Covenant Church does not formally recognize saints or keep any official list of saints, he may not be on any official list. He is worthy of a Golden Halo, however, and should be considered.
I nominate Teresa of Avila. She is a doctor of the church and a reformer of the Carmelite order of nuns and brothers. Her writings, especially the Interior Castle, remain important in spiritual reading to this day.
She was an advisor to many, including monarchs. Also, she was funny. As the story below shows:
Teresa describes the journey thus: “We had to run many dangers. At no part of the road were the risks greater than within a few leagues of Burgos, at a place called Los Pontes. The rivers were so high that the water in places covered everything, neither road nor the smallest footpath could be seen, only water everywhere, and two abysses on each side. It seemed foolhardiness to advance, especially in a carriage, for if one strayed ever so little off the road (then invisible), one must have perished.” The saint is silent on her share of the adventure, but her companions relate that, seeing their alarm, she turned to them and encouraged them, saying that “as they were engaged in doing God’s work, how could they die in a better cause?” She then led the way on foot. The current was so strong that she lost her footing, and was on the point of being carried away when our Lord sustained her. “Oh, my Lord!” she exclaimed, with her usual loving familiarity, “when wilt Thou cease from scattering obstacles in our path?” “Do not complain, daughter,” the Divine Master answered, “for it is ever thus that I treat My friends.” “Ah, Lord, it is also on that account that Thou hast so few!” was her reply.
I like to nominate Oscar Romero, who is venerated more and more by Episcopal (and Roman Catholic) Latino congregations in El Salvador and specially here in the United States. Oscar Romero is an example of integrity and a voice for the poor and oppresed. Murdered while presiding the Eucharist, Romero is a marthyr and prophet, a saint and exceptional Christian.
St. Ambrose. Patron saint of beekeepers.
St. Rose Philippine Duchesne (1769 -1852) She was a frontier missionary of the Sacred Heart. There are 27 schools in the USA that are a result of her work. Her feast day is November 18.
Hildegard von Bingen. Theologian, visionary, healer, musician, mystic. A woman for our times.
Catherine Mowry LaCugna (August 6, 1952 – May 3, 1997)
was a feminist Catholic theologian and author of God For Us. Her contribution was to make the doctrine of the Trinity relevant to the everyday life of modern Christians. LaCugna earned her bachelor’s degree at Seattle University, her Master’s and Doctorate at Fordham University, and joined the faculty at University of Notre Dame in 1981. There, she taught systematic theology to graduate and undergraduate students, eventually holding the Nancy Reeves Dreux Chair of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.
Catherine LaCugna died at the age of 44, of cancer, and is buried in the Cedar Grove Cemetery on the Notre Dame campus.
How about St. Scholastica? Long overshadowed by her brother, St. Benedict, she deserves some stand-alone respect. She’s the patron saint of nuns and education.
St. Jude! He’s my patron saint! Plus, Florence + The Machine wrote a song about St. Jude (loose theology, but come on, its Florence!!)
I nominate William Alexander Guerry, Bishop, Reformer and Martyr, 1861-1928
William Alexander Guerry, native of South Carolina, was born in 1861, served as the bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina from 1907 to the time of his death in 1928. He had an illustrious career as a parish priest and bishop and as Chaplain and Professor of Homiletics and Pastoral Theology at the University of the South
The bishop’s life on earth ended on June 9, 1928, five days after he was shot in his office at St. Philip’s Church by a priest who had attacked the bishop’s position on advancing racial equality in South Carolina, and especially on his proposal to install a black suffragan bishop in the diocese. The priest who shot the bishop had written that the bishop, given his way, would root out the principle of white supremacy in the south. So, overtaken by hatred, and perhaps other mental problems, he fired the shot that killed the bishop and then turned the gun on himself, taking his own life.
Before Bishop Guerry died in Roper Hospital, he said of his assailant, “Forgive him, Father, he knew not what he did.”
I want to nominate Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Her stand for equal rights for all, especially women’s rights that included birth control are as true today as it was during her own lifetime. Given the issues of today, I would love to have her wear the golden halo next year!
The Strong Saint Abba Moses the Ethiopian (circa 330 – 405). One of the great elders of the monastic explosion in Egypt in the fourth century. Moses story of redemption and humility is remarkable. In addition, the teachings he left behind remain insightful for us today.
I would like to nominate Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Her stand for equal rights especially women’s rights and birth control are as true today as in her own lifetime. I’d Love to see her wearing the golden halo next year!
Jonathon Daniels, 1929-1965. Graduated valedictorian from Virginia Military Institute. Felt a call to the priesthood and entered the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Mass. In 1965 he responded to a call from Martin Luther King to join the march from Selma to Montgomer7. After the march he took a work/study leave from school and remained in Alabama, working to integrated public places. After the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, he worked to register voters. On an August afternoon, Jonathon, with a RC priest and 2 African American teens, went to a convenience store that would accept black customers to buy a cold drink. They were met at the door by a man with a shotgun. He leveled it at one of the girls. Jonathon pushed her down and took the bullet in the heart, dead before he hit the ground. His assailant was acquitted of manslaughter by an all white jury. In 1001 Jonathon was named by the Episcopal Church as a martyr and his day is observed on Aug. 14. Although there are memorials to him, a book about him, and he appears in a film about Selma, his story is largely unknown. He deserves a wider audience.
Rose Hawthorne would be a worthy chose. She was the daughter of the famous writer her life was filled with struggle until she listen to GOD. Rose began hospice care in the early 1900’s in NYC, by renting flats so cancer patients had someplace to be and be cared for. She and her team of volunteers became The Hawthorne Dominican Sisters. They are still caring for cancer patients today. Rose is up for Sainthood in the Catholic Church. An American making a difference even after death.
I nominate Nicolaus Copernicus. now more than ever we need to acknowlege the importance of science and the impact of that knowlege in our life and world.
” To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.”
Tassie: AMEN! Yay Copernicus! I nominated him, too, and paired him with Johannes Kepler. Their paired-together feast day was 5/23/19, and you’re right: these courageous men bear witness to the bridges that can span faith and reason. Here’s their Collect: As the heavens declare your glory, O God, and the firmament shows your handiwork, we bless your Name for the gifts of knowledge and insight you bestowed upon Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler; and we pray that you would continue to advance our understanding of your cosmos, for our good and for your glory; through Jesus Christ, the firstborn of all creation, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
I nominate saint Michael, he’s the patron saint of soldiers and policemen. Soldiers and policemen help us all and don’t get much credit, so they need someone looking out for them. Go Saint Michael.
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet…. he deserves another chance to win!
I would like to nominate St. Genesius. After all theatre came out of the church and has made a great impact on the world. Where would we be without those mystery and miracles plays that taught the folks in the early church.
I nominate Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. She was a wife, a mother, a widow, a convert and founder of the Sister of Charity who originally were devoted to educating young girls.
I nominate St. Antoninus of Florence, who beyond his exemplary and pious life was a famed theologian who defended early abortions when necessary to save the pregnant person’s life. He was canonized in 1523, and his feast day was originally May 10 but was changed in 1969 to May 2. According to Wikipedia his body, buried in his cathedral of San Marco in Florence, is still incorrupt.
Am mistaken ? I don’t see Mother Theresa on the list of ineligibles? That is the first name that comes to mind in the selfless helping of suffering humanity. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and was canonized as a saint in 2016. She established the Missionaries of Charity which had over 4,000 members when she died in 1997 and had homes for orphaned children, HIV/AIDS patients, leper colonies and hospices. I would call that doing God’s work.
My new puppy came from Chernobyl, Ukraine, last year and I went looking for an Orthodox Christian saint in honor of her heritage. I found Saint Tikhon, 1865-1925. His life’s story is a fascinating read, and he was a leader at a time with much political upheaval (some things just never change?). He led a life that impacted many people, with a million attending services at his death. As the article I’ll cite ends, “Perhaps the saint’s own words can best sum up his life: “May God teach every one of us to strive for His truth, and for the good of the Holy Church, rather than something for our own sake.”” http://oca.org/saints/lives/2016/04/07/101016-st-tikhon-the-patriarch-of-moscow-and-enlightener-of-north-ameri
I nominate Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks. She is the first native American to be canonized. Although her conversion to Christianity is now considered by many to be a bridge between native American and European cultures within the eastern regions where she lived, controversies about her veneration through the centuries have involved other native American nations and Protestant ecclesiastics.
A reasoned plea to declare the Rev. Fred McFeely Rogers eligible to participate as a “contestant” in Lent Madness.
While the SEC has stated that in order to be eligible for inclusion in the “Saintly Smackdown” a candidate, “should be in the sanctoral calendar of one or more churches.” They have also decreed that they seek to present, “A balanced bracket of saints ancient and modern, Biblical and ecclesiastical representing the breadth and diversity of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.”
The Reverend Fred McFeely Rogers, was a life-long member of, and ordained as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA). While it is noted that the PC(USA) does not maintain a “sanctoral calendar,” it should also be noted that, in 2003 at the 215th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) the Assembly passed an overture to “observe a memorial time for the Reverend Fred M. Rogers.” The rationale for the overture stated that the Rev. Rogers, “had a profound effect on the lives of millions of people across the country through his ministry to children and families. Mister Rogers promoted and supported Christian values in the public media with his demonstration of unconditional love.” This recognition is as close as you can get to sainthood in Presbyterian circles. There is also an annual recognition of Mister Rogers as Family Communications, Inc. (producer of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood) has named March 20 “Won’t You Wear A Sweater?” Day.
Should the Rev. Rogers be selected to participate, the Celebrity Blogger tasked with promoting his cause would have ample historical documents from which to draw for biographical detail. There are many sources for quotes and quibbles, as well as an excellent place to go for the round of kitsch (https://www.fredrogers.org/frc/store/). There is also the huge fan base he has in the Lent Madness family. There’s a good chance he would show well.
In conclusion:
1. Fred Rogers has been recognized by an established ecclesiastical body for his Christian walk and witness. (It’s not our fault Presbyterians don’t “do” saints)
2. Fred Rogers already has his own “day” on the calendar (maybe not a “church” calendar, but a calendar, nonetheless)
3. Including Fred Rogers in Lent Madness would be yet more proof of the magnanimous and ecumenical nature of the SEC. (It would also give us Presbyterians someone to cheer for – the Methodists have the Wesleys, and the Lutherans have Luther, we deserve someone other than Calvin or Knox)
4. Since the SEC makes the rules, they can also choose to bend (as in awarding a Silver Halo) or even ignore the rules.
Thank you for your consideration
Amen
#143DayInPa. May 23. It may not be sacred, but don’t tell the people of Pennsylvania that!!!
Could not agree more!
I would like to nominate Saint Chad. Even though he is not and never was the patron saint of anything hanging paper or otherwise next year is a very important election year and the election process needs all the help it can get.
I nominate Saint Chad to help us fight against the Godless Ruskies and others.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Chad
Jacapone da Todi!!!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacopone_da_Todi
“Crazy Jim” has been my favorite of the Fools for Christ since I first read about him in the 1980’s.
He is great fodder for Lent Madness, because he was often thought to be mad himself.
I don’t know why, though Wiki does offer a few hints:
***
Examples of this behavior included appearing in the public square of Todi, wearing a saddle and crawling on all fours. On another occasion, he appeared at a wedding in his brother’s house, tarred and feathered from head to toe.
***
He would offer his Saintly Biographer So Much to work with!
And I offer myself for that honor as well!
Let me know when it is Nomination Time for Bloggers!
I nominate St Expeditus – to fight Procrastination! The name alone does it for me!
I nominate St. Genesius, whose feast day in the Roman Catholic calendar is August 25. How can you resist the story of a comedian starring in a play making fun of Christians who has a sudden conversion on stage, in the middle of a performance? Plus, I have often observed that many of the lawyers I know, particularly those who are often in court, are actors at heart. St. Genesius apparently believed that, too, because he’s not only the patron saint of actors, but also of lawyers and barristers (among other folks).
St. Hilda of Whitby was a teacher devoted to Celtic monasticism who exercised the virtues of peace and charity. She was an advocate of women’s education; St Hilda’a College of Women, Oxford was named after her until the number of female students in Oxford reached nearly 50%. Her monastery was chosen for the Synod of Whitby, known for standardizing the Roman method of calculating Easter.
I nominate Father Mychal Judge, first person killed in the 911 attack on the World Trade Center. Father Judge devoted his life to ministering to marginalized persons and first responders. He was made a saint in the Orthodox-Catholic Church of America.
I nominate Menno Simons. A contemporary of the protestant reformers, Menno Simons left the Catholic priesthood and joined the anabaptist movement. He rejected the violence advocated by some of the early anabaptist sects and argued for the separation of church and state. Under his leadership the Mennonite movement was established that remains today an important world-wide voice for non-violence and church and state separation. The Mennonite Church does not remember its influential spiritual leaders on particular days, but the early history of the Mennonite movement is central to our identity.
I would like to add my nomination for Fred Rogers to the above entry. He exemplified simplicity, humility, empathy, and just plain goodness. He discerned the need for a unique ministry to children and created a way to present it. Even being childless, I found he presented a model of how to be a decent human being.
I nominate St. Teresa of Avila. For being one of the formost writers on contemplative prayer, for being named a Doctor of the Church, for being a saint of the everyday. Prayer was important to her, but so was work. You can wash dishes and enter into communion with God at the same time. It is all holy.
I nominate Simon Gibbons, the first Inuit priest in the Anglican Church of Canada. His feast day is December 14 as shown on the Calendar of Saints: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_of_saints_(Anglican_Church_of_Canada)
Certainly many of the saints we consider have gone through tremendous personal sacrifice but for me Simon’s story is so powerful. He lost both parents at a young age and was raised in an orphanage. He went on to excel in studies, was ordained and faithfully served remote Nova Scotian communities, building several churches, and along the way getting an audience with Queen Victoria! Having just come through a rather long winter, I cannot imagine walking/snowshoeing a hundred mile circuit regularly over 7 years to bring the message of God’s unending love to people who otherwise would have little contact with the outside world.
Thanks for your consideration.
I nominate twin Saints Cosmas and Damian.
I nominate Maria Goreth patron saint of victims of rape and youth, especially adolescent girls. It’s been a more difficult year for rape survivors politically. The newest supreme court appointment and several states outlawing abortion, even for rape victims. My home state of Ohio has done so, very painful for me. It looks to me that Bathsheba( no fault of hers) doesn’t qualify so I’m supporting Maria.
I would like to nominate Sarah Grimké. Born in the South in the early 1800s, she was given her own personal slave for her 11th birthday. She had life-long anti-slavery convictions, and became an abolitionist who, with her sister, traveled the country making speeches about the evils and injustices of slavery and the importance of women’s equality. She was by turns Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Quaker, so she must be on a commemoration list somewhere!
I would like to nominate St. Anthony. When I felt I had utterly lost myself, I prayed the St. Anthony Prayer (Dear St. Anthony, please come around, something is lost and cannot be found), and it worked a miracle.
How do I find how who the eligible saints are? I don’t know a whole lot about who is a saint!
I would suggest reading through the comments on this particular blog post: https://www.lentmadness.org/2019/05/nominationtide-has-arrived-2/
I am nominating Matt Talbot, the Dublin laborer, who overcame what seemed a hopeless addiction to alcohol, lived a life of asceticism and prayer, and devoted his life to God and helping his neighbor. There are several reasons why I am nominating Matt. 1.) In our own day, addictions of so many kinds have reached epidemic proportions, and Matt’s story shows us that absolutely no one is beyond God’s grace or hope of recovery. 2.) Matt came from a very poor background, growing up in the tenements of Dublin and working in a lumber yard for much of his life. His life shows that the most ordinary person, some one of no importance in the eyes of the world, may live a life of great holiness and do great good. 3.) Matt’s story is inspiring because he did not just stop drinking – he converted to an entirely different way of life. He taught himself to read so he could educate himself and study scripture and spiritual writings. He lived in a tiny rented room, giving away most of his small earnings to those poorer than himself. He changed from being a wastrel to a hard worker who earned the deep respect of his coworkers and bosses. 4.) Though Matt chose a very ascetic style of life – sleeping on a board, fasting, and constant prayer – he was no pious killjoy. There are many stories of his kindness, especially to children, his cheerfulness, his dry humor, and his great yet quiet generosity. One of my favorite stories is about his giving a friend money to buy a pint of beer, because it was “no sin to have a pint” – he knew he couldn’t drink himself, but he didn’t condemn it in others. 5.) Matt’s story has much in common with the early Celtic saints he consciously tried to imitate, and it shows that not all Celtic saints lived in medieval times – he died in 1925, less than a hundred years ago.
There are many beautiful stories about Matt Talbot. There are short biographies of him online, and several books about him if you would like to learn more. Mary Purcell’s Matt Talbot and his Times I found especially useful. Please consider him for the 2020 roster!
A quick addendum to my above nomination of Matt Talbot, since I’ve realized I omitted something important relating to the requirements. Matt Talbot is on the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, recognized as Venerable (two steps from canonization) and has the feast day of June 19th. A miracle attributed to him is being investigated by the Vatican. Thanks.
I nominate St. Therese of the Little Flower! Her message of love and humility, and the example of her dedication to Christ, have been inspirational to generations. She was made a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, after several miraculous healings were attributed to her.
I nominate Saint Cecelia, patron saint of musicians. I’m an amateur musician, so she is important to me. I nominate her in recognition of all church musicians worldwide, regardless of denomination or particular Church.
I nominate St Gregory Palamas, commemorated on the Orthodox calendar on both Nov 14 and the second Sunday of Great Lent. He lived in the 14th century and established a firm theological basis for hesychastic spirituality. He also defined more exactly the essence-energies distinction; God’s essence is inaccessible to his creatures, but he interacts with them through his uncreated energies (his immanent aspect). We are deified through the energies, which are acquired through prayer and the sacraments.
Ramona the Melodist, an eastern saint known for his hymns. He lived singing but had a terriblebounce. He pleaded with the Virgin Mary and she granted his request for a beautiful singing voice.
Since there are already multiple nominations for the Rev. Fred McFeely Rodgers aka Saint Fred of the Neighborhood and someone has already nominated Saint Maria Goretti (1890-1902) [Maria’s mother was present at her 1950 canonization!] I would like to nominate Saint Rita of Cascia. The following is from her entry in the RC Calendar iOS app.
Saint Rita of Cascia (1377 – 1447)
She was born near Cascia, in Umbria in Italy. She was married at the age of 12 despite her frequently repeated wish to become a nun. Her husband was rich, quick-tempered and immoral and had many enemies. She endured his insults, abuse and infidelities for 18 years and bore him two sons, who grew to be like him.
Towards the end of his life she helped to convert her husband to a more pious way of life, but he was stabbed to death by his enemies not long afterwards. He repented before he died and was reconciled to the Church.
Her sons planned to avenge their father’s death. When Rita’s pleas were unavailing, she prayed that God should take their lives if that was the only way to preserve them from the sin of murder. They died of natural causes a year later.
Rita asked to join the convent of St Mary Magdalen at Cascia. She was rejected for being a widow, since the convent was for virgins only, and later given the impossible task of reconciling her family with her husband’s murderers. She carried out the task and was allowed to enter the convent at the age of 36. She remained there until her death at the age of 70.
She is widely honoured as a patron saint of impossible or lost causes.
Forgot to add her Feast Day was yesterday, 22 May.
I would like to nominate St. Maximilian Kolbe. His willingness to step up and die in the starvation bunker of Auschwitz to save a stranger with a family was the ultimate act of selflessness — following a lifetime of selflessness. During the three weeks of suffering prior to his death, St. Max continued to minister to and comfort those in the starvation bunker with him. Franciszek Gajowniczek, the man St. Max saved, ultimately survived Auschwitz and was present at his 1982 Canonization by the Roman Catholic Church.
I nominate Joshua (Son of Nunn). Think about how he had to follow Moses. Also the courage he showed in giving the minority report in Numbers 14. And who could forget Joshua fit the Battle of Jericho. (Or was it Geritol?)
Also I am preaching on Joshua 1:6-9 on Sunday
Nomination: Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler Astronomers 1543 & 1630
Feast Day: May 23 2019
Why: These two astronomers contribute much, and bear witness to places where our faith and our science can be in healthy conversation with each other
Why Two-Saints Paired Up? 1) Because the church remembers both on their saint day; and 2) bold and pair ’em up – rather than “match them up” to vote on one vs. another
Need more Rationale? Check out their Collect: “As the heavens declare your glory, O God, and the firmament shows your handiwork, we bless your Name for the gifts of knowledge and insight you bestowed upon Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler; and we pray that you would continue to advance our understanding of your cosmos, for our good and for your glory; through Jesus Christ, the firstborn of all creation, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
I nominate St. Columba, who established the monastery at Iona. First of all, he’s the patron of poets, which appeals to me. Secondly, he was the great-great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages (something I admit to not knowing before reading his Wikipedia entry… but what a cool name!). Thirdly, I was so very moved and shaped by my too-brief week at the Iona Community, and I know thousands of others have been, too. Fourthly, my son Malcolm’s name means “Servant of St. Columba,” which I just think is cool.
So, yeah. Columba.
That said, there are SO MANY fabulous nominations above! So much to look forward to!
I recommend Bishop Seabury, for without him, the Episcopal Church would not be the church we know today.
I have the inestimable privilege and joyous honor to nominate Eva Lee Matthews, Monastic, 1928 for Lent Madness 2020. She is also known as Mother Eva Mary, C.T., Founder of the Community of the Transfiguration. She is honored in the latest edition of Lesser Feasts and Fasts on July 6. (https://extranet.generalconvention.org/staff/files/download/21034)
Mother Eva deserves this nomination, not only because she is the Founder of the Community of the Transfiguration, but because of the kind of person she was in her ministry to the poorest and neediest among us and her passion for loving mission. She was a true servant of Christ. Raised in privilege in Glendale, Ohio, she could have had a life of ease and comfort either in the society of Cincinnati or in Washington, D.C., where her father, Associate Justice Stanley Matthews served on the United States Supreme Court. Instead, she chose to keep house for her brother – the future Bishop Paul Matthews – on the frontier where he was serving as a mission priest. She worked among the women and children in the area; teaching, caring, loving. She longed to enter an established monastic community, but was persuaded of the need for a uniquely American community rather than one with English roots. Thus, on August 6, 1898, the Community of the Transfiguration was born. I could go on at considerable length about her courage, her faithfulness, and the many lives touched for the better by her decision to follow the leading of the Spirit.
I should note, in addition, that there is plenty of drama in the life of this remarkable woman, including her years-long efforts in a proudly low-church diocese (Southern Ohio) to gain permission from the then bishop to have the reserved Sacrament in our Oratory. Further, there is plenty of evidence of her sense of humor as well as her sometimes questionable taste in religious art. She was a writer of children’s stories and a woman of deep, spiritual insight. I am, of coursed, biased, as a Sister in the Community she founded, but believe her to be more than worthy by any independent standards. Should the Highly Revered Supreme Executive Committee discern her worthiness to be a Nominee for Lent Madness, 2020, it will be my privilege and the privilege of others among my Sisters to provide information to whichever Celebrity Blogger has the honor of shepherding her through the various stages of voting. Meanwhile, the story of her life and the early years of her Community can be found at http://anglicanhistory.org/women/evamary/
Nomination for Lent Madness inclusion: Jonathan Daniels, martyred in Alabama in the summer of 1965, Jonathan is a modern saint whose dedication to racial justice cost him his life. A man to be admired as an exemplar of courage and sacrificial service.
I nominate Benjamin Lay, 18th Century Quaker renegade abolitionist, cave dweller, vegetarian, dwarf. He dedicated his life to abolitionism and particularly to purging the Society of Friends of slave-holders (there were many rich Quaker slave holders in Pennsylvania at that time). Though he was eventually expelled from all of the meetings to which he belonged, he accomplished it by the time of his death, and this stance came to define the Society of Friends in the public sphere. He was known in particular for his guerrilla tactics within meetings, including exploding bladders filled with (faux) blood, to make a point. About just about everything, he was radical then, and radical even today, but right. http://www.abingtonmeeting.org/info-on-benjamin-lay/ (Declaration – Lay as a Friend of the Truth)
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/quaker-comet-greatest-abolitionist-never-heard-180964401/
Good choice, Sarah! He is awesome.
I second that. I think that Benjamin Lay was truly ahead of his time in many different ways.
I agree.
I nominate St. Cuthbert, Feast Day August 31 along with Aidan. Cuthbert was Prior of both Melrose Abbey and Lindisfarne. Even though he brought the Gospel to the Northumbria area of Britain and taught using the Celtic understanding of dating feast days such as Easter, he aligned the then churches under Roman practice, hence becoming a healer if the breach between the two. We need healers of breaches in our faith; we need followers of Jesus like Cuthbert.
Hello
I nominate Saint Joan of Arc. She has been my favorite saint for decades because of her patriotism, strength and faith. She championed women’s rights and it is said she heard voices from Catherine of Alexandria, Margaret of Antioch and the archangel Michael saying she was destined to save France from the English.
Patti Dobro
Parishioner of St Peter’s Episcopal Church
Lakewood Ohio
I would like to nominate Father Antonio Ravalli, S.J. who was recruited to serve at St. Mary’s Mission (in Montana) by Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet, S.J.
From the Historic St. Marys Mission website: “A world away from his roots, Father Ravalli became the beloved priest, physician, pharmacist, sculptor, architect, machinist, and friend of the Native Americans of the Northwest from 1845 to 1884.”
I would like to nominate Corrie Ten Boom who provided a hiding place for many Jews in WWII Holland. she rescued 100 Jewish babies from an orphanage before they could be slaughtered. She faced prison in death with a Bible page in her shoe. Surviving she continuedtospreach the love and redemptive power of Jesus all of her life, all through her love of Jesus own kindred.
I nominate (having not looked through all the comments to see if I am repeating someone else’s nomination) John Calvin 1564.The celebration day of his sainthood is May 28th. His seminal “Institutes of the Christian Religion” is one of the important frameworks for the Reformation. And like all of us, he had his flaws as well as his better angels. I was able, long ago, to hold a xc of the “Institutes” first edition.
I nominate Episcopal saint, Pauli Murray, 1910-1985. I am inspired by her leadership in civil rights (founding member of CORE), feminism (founding member of NOW) and her work to overcome inequality wherever she found it. Although born into poverty and orphaned when young, she graduated from Hunter College and received a law degree from Howard and Yale Universities. In 1977 she was the first African American woman ordained an Episcopal priest. She was an acclaimed author of poetry and prose. She struggled with gender non-conformity throughout her life, but was not defined by it. Her celebrity blogger will have an easy task raising Pauli Murray up toward the Golden Halo she certainly deserves.
I nominate St Melangell (pronounced Mel-eng-eth) a 7th century Welsh abbess who eschewed father’s urge for her to marry instead she vowed herself to God and sought solitary refuge in remote part of Wales. Per legend, a hunter pursuing a hare discovered her when he found the hare fearlessly sheltering in her robes. He offered her lands to serve as a refuge for all seeking asylum and her community grew.
I’m nominating her in this age of little easy solitude and much needed openness to the needs of asylum seekers and all needing safe refuge
Clarence Jordan.
He won’t qualify; no church is celebrating him as a saint of the church. But we should use Lent Madness to raise our consciousness about people who should be saints of the church, not just rely on our institutions. There are too many people left out of institutions.
Clarence Jordan knew that.
He was from Georgia. And he decided to settle there. But the gospel and the book of Acts brought him to a decision. He would settle there, but only as a true Christian. One who lives in brotherhood with all people. One who renounces worldly possessions. One who lives out the gospel. He and his wife and another family founded Koinonia Farms. Despite intense pressure from the neighbors, the KKK, the local churches, the county, and the state of Georgia — social, economic, and violent pressure — Clarence Jordan lived out a life of Christian witness and example. He was funny. Smart. Whip-smart. Check out this audio — 45 minutes of him talking about the founding of the community and how he and his wife and other members of his community responded to the pressures around them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g1Z-v-TpI0. I can’t think of a better example of a relatively unknown person who should be named a saint of the church.
I would like to nominate Harriet Tubman (1822-1913), who is recognized on the Episcopal calendar on March 10 – see pp. 174-176 of Lesser Feasts and Fasts, Conforming to General Convention 2018.
Born a slave in Maryland, Tubman escaped from bondage to Pennsylvania and then returned to Maryland to rescue nearly 70 people from slavery, first family members then others. She worked actively with others along the Underground Railroad to help these people travel to freedom. She worked actively with many abolitionists, including John Brown. Once the Civil War began, she worked as a spy for the Union Army, and helped lead a raid that resulted in freedom for more than 700 slaves. After the Civil War, she lived in Auburn, New York, where she cared for her elderly parents. Late in her life, she became increasingly active in the women’s suffrage movement, although she died before she could see votes for women included in the U.S. Constitution.
Harriet Tubman may not be good enough for the Trump Administration to put on the $20 bill, but her life and work warrant her inclusion in the field of saints for Lent Madness 2020.
I would like to nominate a man loved and respected throughout the North part of Canada, the Venerable Archdeacon Robert McDonald representing the best of the missionaries.
The follow is quoted from Wikipedia:
Early life
Edit
A second generation Canadian, Robert McDonald was born in 1829 to Scots immigrant Neil McDonald, an employee of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and his wife Ann Logan (daughter of a retired Hudson’s Bay trader) at Point Douglas, Red River Colony (what became Winnipeg, Manitoba).[1] The second of ten children, McDonald attended the Red River Academy until he was 15, then helped his father on the family farm for four years before taking a position with the Methodist mission at Norway House.[2]
Career
Edit
McDonald also studied at St. John’s Collegiate School (predecessor of the University of Manitoba founded in 1877), which enabled him to take holy orders as an Anglican deacon in 1852. Bishop David Anderson of Rupert’s Land ordained him as a priest in 1853. His first posting was at the White Dog (a.k.a. Islington) Mission at the junction of the Winnipeg and Lac Seul Rivers among the Ojibwe people, now known as the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations or Whitedog First Nation. Using a syllabic method and Latin alphabet, McDonald began translating the Bible into Ojibwe a.k.a. Ojibwa a.k.a. Chippewa, and completed the minor prophets before his next assignment.
In 1862 the Church Missionary Society sent McDonald to the Yukon Territory, where he became the first Protestant missionary ever assigned to work among indigenous peoples of the Arctic. His work involved extensive travel in the Yukon and Northwest Territories, as well as what became Alaska. When gold was discovered, McDonald became the first missionary in the Klondike. He also interacted with Catholic and Russian Orthodox missionaries, sometimes sharing translators among the various tribes in his vast assigned territory. In over forty years, Rev. McDonald baptised over 2000 people, adults as well as children, and educated many at schools he established. His initial station, at Ft. Yukon, was thought to be in Canada, but turned out to be in Alaska. He later worked along the Porcupine River and established another base at Fort McPherson on the Peel River.
McDonald spent most of the next four decades working among the Gwich’in people (who call themselves Dinjii Zhuu, and which was sometimes transcribed as Tinjiyzoo). However, in 1872, he accepted an invitation of the Church Missionary Society and took a working vacation in England, shortly after the Hudson’s Bay Company sold its lands to Canada, leading to the Red River Rebellion of 1869 and finally the creation of Manitoba as the country’s fifth province.
In 1876, a year after McDonald received a promotion to Archdeacon of the newly created Mackenzie diocese, he married Julia Kutuq, a Gwich’in woman, with whom he eventually had nine children.[3][4]
McDonald achieved lasting recognition for his translations, having established an alphabet for the previously oral Gwich’in. With the help of Julia and other native speakers, McDonald translated the Bible, Book of Common Prayer and many hymns into Gwich’in (which he called Takudh and, later, Tukudh).[5] His translation work helped unify the various tribes speaking similar Athabaskan languages. In 1911, McDonald published a dictionary and grammar for the language under the title of “A Grammar of the Tukudh Language”.[6]
I would like to Nominate St. Jude aka Thaddaeus, a brother of St James the Less and a relative of Christ. St. Jude is the Patron Saint of Desperate Causes.
I know that every time I have been in turmoil and asked for his intercession, he has granted my petition.
St. Jude was one of the Apostles and preached to the churches in the East in the decades after Christ died . He suffered martyrdom in Armenia which at the tine was a subject of Persia.
His feast day is on October 28.
Lydia of Thyatira! She was the first European convert to Christianity, and a woman at that.
Lydia of Phillipi, the first European Christian and the Writ’s only businesswoman, as far as I can tell. A generous, hospitable, and remarkable Saint. Besides, she got the young-ish Paul to sit down with her, engaging in discussion and accepting her hospitality. In other words, behaving better than he — or perhaps his pesudo-Pauline reputation — behaves in other contexts.
I nominate John Henry Newman. His role in the Oxford Movement helped to initiate a shift in Global Anglicanism that is clearly felt in many Churches in the Anglican Communion. Although he swam the Tiber, he lasting influence on Anglicanism has left him as one of my favorite saints.
I nominate Saint Athanasius. I was in my twenties when I began learning about the Apostolic Church… and was never quite able to get my head around the trinity until I studied the Creed of Saint Athanasius… either I have a really thick head, or his rather wordy creed finally made enough twists and turns that it screwed the concept into my mind and heart. (By the way, Sister Athanasius of the Ursuline Center in Great Falls made a beautiful Rosary which I keep close at hand — a treasured possession)
I would like to nominate a man not widely known and but a man who served the church as the 3rd bishop of Rome ( Pope ) and early martyr of the church under the Emperor Domitian. His name is Cletus, the middle name given to me at my baptism as a baby only 18 days old and the the name of a beloved uncle and priest of the church. for 63 years. The reason I am nominating him is even though little is known of him or of his accomplishments he is worthy to be considered for this honor because he loved and served Jesus and the church and gave his life for the One he loved and served. Anyone who loves and follows Jesus and gives their life for the One they love deserves to be remembered and honored as a saint of the church.
Cletus was the 2nd successor of St. Peter as bishop of Rome from 76-88. In the historical annals his father was listed as Emelianus , was Roman by birth and belonged to the quarter known as Vicus Patric. . He ordained 25 priest and is buried in the Vatican near the body of St. Peter and St. Linus ( another early pope ) . In Eucharistic Prayer One in the Roman Catholic Church he is listed as a martyr and is known to have received the crown of martyrdom in the year 91. His relics still remain in St.Peter’s Basilica and his feast day is celebrated on April 26.
I nominate Pelagius the great theologian who articulated good will and the inherent good of people in contrast with Augustan doctrine of original sin.
I nominate Bartolome de las Casas.
His Feast Day is July 18th.
Bartolome was a Spanish Dominican friar who traveled to the Americas with Columbus on his second voyage to the New World. Bartolome settled for a time in Hispaniola. After seeing the treatment of the indigenous peoples of Central America and Hispaniola by the Spaniards, he sold his plantations and freed his slaves. He wrote a book from the point of view of the indigenous and spent his life in the Caribbean advocating for them.
Yes, but he was also the first person to suggest enslaving Africans, and although he recanted this view later in life, the damage was done.
St. Cyprian
The Patron saint of the parish I was baptized and confirmed in. I really do not know much of his story and would love to learn more.
As have several others above, I nominate Jonathan Myrick Daniels. Have just finished watching the award-winning documentary “Here Am I, Send Me: The Story of Jonathan Daniels” on vimeo.com. Please take the time to view.
I nominate St. Aurelia of Strasbourg. Aurelia was a princess who became a hermitess and her saint day is celebrated on my birthday, October 15. Yay!
I nominate Christina Rossetti,poet. She wrote Love Came Down at Christmas [#84 in the hymnal] and In the Bleak Mid Winter [ #112 in the hymnal]. Her feast day is April 27th. I am nominating her because of these two wonderful Christmas hymns.
Marlene, even though I nominated someone else (Jonathan Daniels), if I could do another one, it would be my favorite poet, Christina Rossetti. As a church musician and parishioner, I’ve always loved these two hymns. Through the years I’ve come to appreciate so many of her other poems. What a wonderful gift she shared with the world.
I nominate John Wesley. He is known for being the founder of the Methodists but this information is wrong. He died an Anglican priest. Also his brother who has been one of the illegible saints, Charles Wesley (also composed gorgeous hymns).
The name Methodist started when John Wesley was a student of Christ Church in the University of Oxford (or a Fellow at Lincoln College) and him and his friends were called Methodists because 9f their zeal
John Wesley was one of the important figures in the UK battling against slavery. He travelled a lot to the US and was advocating the end of slavery here too.
I nominate St. Katherine Drexel – this was my niece’s confirmation saint this year and reading more about her I was fascinated by her work against racism and on behalf of African American and Indian children.
https://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/article/american-martyr-jonathan-daniels
Jonathan Daniels worked for civil rights for African Americans, and was martyred for his witness.
I nominate Elizabeth Fry. She was a prison reformer in England in the early 1800’s. She also opened a homeless shelter in London. She was just added to the Episcopal calendar in 2018.
I nominate St. George, a soldier from Cappadocia and a member of the Praetorian Guard for Roman Emperor Diocletian. He was martyred April 23, 303, probably at Lydda in Palestine, for refusing to recant his Christian faith. The story of his courage and the strength of his faith spread far and wide; within centuries of his death he was venerated across Europe, the Levant and in India, and is still today. In the Middle East he is held to be both saint and prophet; both Christians and Muslins revere him. He is the patron saint of England, Portugal, Germany, Aragon, Catalonia, Genoa, and Venice, as well as Boy Scouts and soldiers, universities, and England’s royal family. His cross forms England’s national flag – and, of course, the emblem of the Episcopal Church!
St. George has never appeared in the Lent Madness lineup…surely a regrettable omission for a man who is revered so widely across much of the world. As a member of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Belleville, Illinois, I nominate St. George for his courage, compassion, generosity and above all for his unconquerable faith in Jesus Christ.
I nominate Saint Zita. She is a patron of domestic servants, a bit naive, and generous to a fault. I particularly like her because she specializes in lost keys. What a market opportunity! St Zita key rings!
I nominate Lydia (in Sunday, May 26’s first reading) who brought Paul to her home where she and her household were baptized.
I nominate Saint Nino from the Eastern Orthodox church. As I read in Wikipedia she was considered a saint and important in the 3rd century, particularly in Georgia. I saw a doctor recently whose name was Nino and I had not heard of this name previously and she told me about the saint and that many young women in Russia and in the Orthodox church are named Nino. I want to know more.
St Anthon of Padua. Saint Anthony was born Fernando Martins in Lisbon, Portugal. He was born into a wealthy family and by the age of fifteen asked to be sent to the Abbey of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, the then capital of Portugal. During his time in the Abbey, he learned theology and Latin.
Following his ordination to the priesthood, he was named guestmaster and was responsible for the abbey’s hospitality. When Franciscan friars settled a small hermitage outside Coimbra dedicated to Saint Anthony of Egypt, Fernando felt a longing to join them. Fernando eventually received permission to leave the Abbey so he could join the new Franciscan Order. When he was admitted, he changed his name to Anthony.
Anthony then traveled to Morocco to spread God’s truth, but became extremely sick and was returned to Portugal to recover. The return voyage was blown off-course and the party arrived in Sicily, from which they traveled to Tuscany. Athony was assigned to the hermitage of San Paolo after local friars considered his health.As he recovered, Anthony spent his time praying and studying.
An undetermined amount of time later, Dominican friars came to visit the Franciscans and there was confusion over who would present the homily. The Dominicans were known for their preaching, thus the Franciscans assumed it was they who would provide a homilist, but the Dominicans assumed the Franciscans would provide one. It was then the head of the Franciscan hermitage asked Anthony to speak on whatever the Holy Spirit told him to speak of. Though he tried to object, Anthony
delivered an eloquent and moving homily that impressed both groups. Soon, news of his eloquence reached Francis of Assisi, who held a strong distrust of the brotherhood’s commitment to a life of poverty. However, in Anthony, he found a friend. In 1224, Francis entrusted his friars’ pursuits of studies to Anthony. Anthony had a book of psalms that contained notes and comments to help when teaching students and, in a time when a printing press was not yet invented, he greatly valued it.
When a novice decided to leave the hermitage, he stole Anthony’s valuable book. When Anthony discovered it was missing, he prayed it would be found or returned to him. The thief did return the book and in an extra step returned to the Order as well. The book is said to be preserved in the Franciscan friary in Bologna today.Anthony occasionally taught at the universities of Montpellier an
d Toulouse in southern France, but he performed best in the role of a preacher. So simple and resounding was his teaching of the Catholic Faith, most unlettered and the innocent could understand his messages. It is for this reason he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XII in 1946. Once, when St. Anthony of Padua attempted to preach the true Gospel of the Catholic Church to heretics who would not listen to him, he went out and preached his message to the fish. This was not, as liberals and naturalists have tried to say, for the instruction of the fish, but rather for the glory of God, the delight of the angels, and the easing of his own heart. When critics saw the fish begin to gather, they realized they should also listen to what Anthony had to say. He was only 35-years-old when he died and was canonized less than one year afterward by Pope Gregory IX. Upon exhumation some 336 years after his death, his body was found to be corrupted, yet his tongue was totally incorrupt, so perfect were the teachings that had been formed upon it. He is typically depicted with a book and the Infant Child Jesus and is commonly referred to today as the “finder of lost articles.” St Anthony is venerated all over the world as the Patron Saint for lost articles, and is credited with many miracles involving lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods.
I nominate Trevor Huddleston, late Church of England Bishop of Stepney/Archbishop of the Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean. Huddleston served God and God’s people in South Africa for 16 years, from 1940 to 1956, and was a fearless voice against the evil institution of apartheid. He greatly influenced such diverse people as Desmond Tutu and Khotso Makhulu, Hugh Masekela and Jonas Gwangwa, and was a close friend of ANC President O.R. Tambo. His book, “Naught for your Comfort” should be required reading for all Christians.
Discerning which saint to nominate for Lent Madness 2020 was fun and difficult since the Episcopal Church alone has a wealth from which to choose. I’ve settled, though, on Dorothy Sayers. While I love the other Inklings, it seems to me that we let her be overshadowed by them. Yet she is an equal certainly to Lewis in theological thought and excellent prose. She opened my eyes even wider that women could even write theology.
In “Are Women Human?”, Sayers writes, “Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man – there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronised; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them either as ‘The women, God help us!’ or ‘The ladies, God bless them!’…” A reminder that could and should be applied today in the many iterations of the Christian way. Not to mention in the world in everyday relationships and interactions.
Her sense of humor and self is marvelous.
Also, I would hope for some great kitsch. Although I did see a crocheted Lydia doll on the Vanderbilt lectionary’s art page, so maybe I should have nominated her.
Terese of the Andes
Unremarkable parents
20th century
Cloistered carmelite
Died of typhus in her 20s
Inspired writings
I would like to nominate Pierre Teilhard de Chardin for 2020 Lent Madness. He was a well-educated Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of Peking Man. He wrote two comprehensive works, “The Phenomenon of Man” and “The Divine Milieu”, both of which brought down the wrath of the Pope & his superiors. This quote resonates with me: “You are not a human being in search of a spiritual experience. You are a spiritual being immersed in a human experience.”
I nominate Saint Hervé who was born blind. With his disciple Guiharan, Hervé lived near Plouvien as a hermit and bard. He had the power to cure animals and was accompanied by a domesticated wolf. His wolf devoured the ox or donkey Hervé used in plowing. Hervé then preached a sermon that was so eloquent that the wolf begged to be allowed to serve in the ox’s stead. Hervé’s wolf pulled the plow from that day on. (How cool is that!)
He was joined by disciples and refused any ordination or earthly honour, accepting only to be ordained as an exorcist. He died in 556 AD and was buried at Lanhouarneau.
He is the patron saint of bards (musicians) and the blind.
Gregory of Nazianzus, for his role in formulating the doctrine of the Incarnation. Reading his writings cleared some important cobwebs out of my head.
I nominate St. Aelred of Rievaulx. He was a exceptional Abbot, who’s magnum opus, Spiritual Friendship, still inspires many to a deeper intimacy as Christian brothers and sisters. Also, because his writings suggest he was attracted to men, he is the patron saint of Integrity USA, the Episcopal Church’s LGBTQ ministry.
I would like to nominate St. Dymphna, patron saint of the nervous, mentally ill, and those who suffer from neurological disorders, as well as psychologists, psychiatrists, and neurologists. She was born in Ireland in the 7th century to a pagan king, Damon, and a Christian mother, as the story goes. She consecrated herself to God at the age of 14 and vowed a life of chastity. However, her mother died shortly afterwards, and in the midst of his grief her father’s mental state began to deteriorate and he began to lust after his daughter. She fled with her confessor, Father Gerebernus, two servants and the king’s fool, and they eventually settled in the town of Geel in modern-day Belgium. She sest up a hospice center for the poor and sick of the region, but her father found her, and when she refused to return with him he became mad and cut off her head. A church was built for her in 1349 in Geel and attracted many, many visitors and pilgrims seeking treatment for mental illnesses. So many, in fact, that even after the church increased space for the visitors, the sanctuary was overflowing, so townspeople began to welcome them into their homes, thus initiating a tradition of radical hospitality that apparently still continues in some fashion to this day. I think a saint who inspired such a revolutionary practice of gentle and de-stigmatized care for some of the most vulnerable in our communities is worth a spot on the bracket!
I nominate The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. While he was not an Episcopalian or Anglican, he was a martyr and prophet in our time and is honored in the Episcopal Church as a Holy Man. Hymn 46 in Lift Every Voice and Sing II, Blessed Martin, Pastor, Prophet, acknowledges Dr. King’s work, wisdom, courage, and sacrifice for reconciliation and justice on behalf of all people. The more I read and hear about and by him, the more I admire him.
please consider St Kateri Tekakwitha, Native American who suffered many trials due to disease and her Christian/Catholic faith in the Northeast section of America with escape and support in Canada; she was faithful and true to her faith and beliefs, and has been credited with healing miracles and fits the criteria for nomination
I nominate Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, one of our own Episcopal saints. She has been a favorite of mine for many years, and when I read her story again this year on April 30, I decided to nominate her for the Golden Halo. Born in 1788 in New Hampshire, she lived a remarkable life during a tumultuous time in the development of our nation. In her 91 years she became a leader in both women’s and national spheres, consistently laboring for women’s education, becoming the first woman to author an American novel. She published “Godey’s Lady’s Book”, promoting concern for women’s health and property rights. She helped found Vassar College. Her influence spanned numerous issues, from the abolition of slavery, matters of child-rearing, literature and dress. She dedicated much energy to causes that could unite North and South, through her work to preserve Bunker Hill and George Washington’s home Mount Vernon as national
Monuments. She became most famous for the nationalization of the Thanksgiving holiday during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. But perhaps most significant to all children – young and old – was her book of verses for the Sunday School market, including the now famous “Mary Had a Little Lamb”. Sarah Buell Hale, by virtue of her concern for the unity of the nation and her desire to honor the work and influence of women in society would make an outstanding winner of the Golden Halo.
I nominate Saint Prassade – celebrated in the RC church on 7/21. She was an early Christian who aided and hid Christians on the run from the emperor. And she has an incredible beautiful church in her honor just south of Saint Maria Maggiore in Rome
I nominate ST. CECILIA for Lent Madness 2020. Cecilia is the patron of musicians and church music.
Music plays a central role in prayer and liturgy. Her courage was remarkable, and her feast day is celebrated everywhere on November 22.
I nominate St. Lucy. One of the ancient martyrs of Rome, she is one of the eight women mentioned by name in the Roman Canon (Eucharist Prayer). She refused to be married, preferring to devote herself body and soul to Christ. She also divided up her inheritance to give to the poor—an act that attracted the attention of the pagan authorities, leading to her torture and death.
St Adomnan, abbot of Iona, biographer of St Columba, and promulgator of the Law of the Innocents, the first legal protection for women and children during times of conflict. He deserves to be better known than he is. Really, what’s not to like?
Charles Erskine Scott Wood was the U.S. Army officer who was assigned to participate in the defeat of the Nez Perce Indian Tribe and to serve as Translator for Chief Joseph who became his long-time friend. Wood was so distressed at what he had seen that he could not sleep that night and proceeded to write the account of Chief Joseph’s embodying the freedoms given voice in our Constitution, etc.
Chief Joseph himself did not give a speech, and is known to have stated “I will fight no more forever.” Everything else which we have that’s full of our understanding of civil liberties and U.S. law and so forth was written by Wood in the voice of Chief Joseph. Wood felt the need to share his sense of shame about what the U.S. Army had done when it was carrying out U.S. policy in the Northwest.
Several years later, the West Point graduate retired from the U.S. Army and settled in Portland, Oregon, becoming a prominent lawyer. He represented both Margaret Sanger and Emma Goldman for many years. Wood was a friend of Mark Twain, Eugene Debs, and Ansel Adams.
He was active in the American Anti-Imperialist League, calling for immediate independence for the Philippines and all other territories conquered in the Spanish-American War. Wood lovingly painted Native Americans and Pacific Coastal landscapes.
With passion, he championed civil liberties. Wood wrote for a variety of political and literary journals. He was an enthusiast of the views of Henry George. His contributions to the Portland, Oregon, community were significant and varied over the decades.
Turning 90 years old, Wood took up the cause of opposing the internment of Japanese-Americans in concentration camps. His daughter had served one term as the first U.S. Congresswoman from Oregon.
While he’s frequently called a “Patron Saint of Oregon,” I have not yet discovered what church has him a calendar of saints. Having searched for several days, that’s my only concern in nominating him.
I am happy to nominate Phillip James Elliot, a modern day martyr (10/8/27-1/8/56). As a young man Elliot decided to become a missionary. Despite his families urging, he decided that international missions should take precedence over helping his home church.
While leading a mission trip to a primitive people, the Quechua Indians of Ecuador, Elliot and 4 other missionaries were martyred. One of his famous quotes is, ” He is no fool, who gives what he can not keep, to gain what he can not lose”.
Mother Cabrini–I learned about Mother Cabrini on a piece from NPR about doggerel prayers requesting assistance from Saints like the one for St. Anthony when something needs to be found. The one invokes Mother Cabrini when one needs to find a parking space, which I often did at the Shady Grove Metro garage when I had to go downtown mid-day. Our church just did a “Favorite Saint” display board contest at All Saints Day and I picked Mother Cabrini, sort of tongue in cheek, but in researching her I found that she is truly worthy of veneration for all the good work she did with the poor, the sick and orphans in NYC and other places.
I would like to nominate Junia, the apostle named only once in scripture. Paul’s mention of this person in Romans has led to many queries and much speculation regarding Junia’s gender. Scant info exists about him/her, thus I believe Lent Madness could be an excellent platform for further thought and exploration.
Thank you for the opportunity to add my voice to Nominationtide!
I wish to nominate Sri Kaleshwar for the 2020 Lent Madness. He died in 2012 and his mahasamadhi is March 13, which is celebrated every year at his Shiva Sai Mandir Ashram. Below I describe why I think he should be on the list.
What is the definition of a Christian?
One person told me that it is someone who loves everyone and does good deeds. Another says that you must claim Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and also that a person must be baptized into the Christian faith. However, I heard from a priest, that baptism is not necessary; it is what is in the heart.
Jesus said, “Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Matthew 12:50.
Jesus also said, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32.
And St. John testified: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (even to them that are established in the omnipresent Christ Consciousness).” John 1:12
So then, what does it mean to be a Saint? Especially for Lent Madness’ purposes?
Since the Christ essence/energy is in everything, that the Big Bang came from this Christ/Creation energy, then how is it that we can even separate out a Christian from anyone else?
Sri Kaleshwar (kaleshwar.org), who not only built a Jesus Temple, he lived in it, prayed to Jesus, called Jesus the “Big Boss”, and did good works by starting schools and medical clinics, as well as funding scholarships for students.
Kaleshwar just happened to be Indian of the Hindu culture, but never called himself a Hindu, Muslim or Christian. He was a man of the Mother, of God, and believed that Jesus’ love was paramount in our existence. He exuded love and challenged his followers to release attachments to the things that draw us away from God, those things in this illusion of life that take our focus away from the divine. He believed that our attention to our soul and our journey towards the Mother was the most important duty for all of us. He was also a great healer, healing those who came to him with physical and spiritual ailments. He wrote books on the path to higher consciousness and enlightenment, and there are many videos online of interviews.
I believe Kaleshwar to be a greater Christian that most people I know, and so I hope you will consider Sri Kaleshwar for Lent Madness 2020.
Like several others, I would like to nominate Rev. Fred Rogers. He did untold good with his television ministry to children, helping them to deal with their deepest fears, such as the death of their loved ones and the divorce of their parents. When he and Joanne took the train from Pittsburgh to Washington for him to receive the Medal of Freedom, they were met by a crowd of adults who wanted to tell him how much he had meant to them. He is now recognized as saintly by the Presbyterian Church. But he has long been acclaimed as a holy person, which is the way saints were chosen by the early church. Unlike some of the recent candidates, who are mythical figures at best, this is a man whose life and work are verified and who is a worthy inspiration for us all.
I nominate St. Dunstan, once Archbishop of Canterbury. He is no longer among us and is commemorated in the Episcopal Church’s very own Lesser Feasts and Fasts (2006). On the serious side his contributions to the monastic life in England and his one time reign as the favorite English Saint make him worthy of consideration. But, if he is nominated and lasts enough rounds, I look forward to seeing what a Celebrity Blogger does with the legends (devil and horseshoe, grabbing the devil’s nose with tongs, etc.) and the kitsch available considering that there are churches, schools and other modern institutions named after him.
I join with others in nominating Mister Fred Rogers
I nominate Thomas Merton for many reasons. He was humble, wise, inclusive, and a profound philosopher. He embraced the teachings of other religions and, for me, showed that God is far greater than any religion can comprehend. His deep spirituality and grasp of meditation reveal his religious and intellectual generosity.
Thomas Cranmer. He is recognized on March 21 each year. In addition to being a leader in the Protestant movement and his contribution to our prayer book, he is an example of thoughtfulness, sin, redemption, and martyrdom. His death stands out for me. When convicted of heresy, he attempted to save his life by recanting. In time, he recanted his recantations. He acknowledged that serving God was more important than his own life and he regretted his earlier recantations. He was burned immediately afterward and symbolically placed his hand that offended God in the fire to be the first part of him burned. I believe Cranmer, like most martyrs, but in a different way, is an example of living our faith. We may find ourselves denying faith and God for some reason or another. But in the end, what matters most is that we find our way back to the Church, our faith, and God in Christ.
I vote Mother Teresa. I vote her because she was saintly, she was flawed, and she helped many during her time.
Saint Michael the Archangel- I chose Saint Michael the Archangel because he is the archangel like my father and grandfather before him as they were both police officers. Michael is the name of my said grandfather and he is the one I count on to bring me to church every Sunday.
I nominate Saint Thomas Aquinas. I nominate Saint Thomas Aquinas because of his persistence to become apart of the catholic community. He escaped his own family to find Christ. He also was a great writer for catholic community.
Saint Rose of Lima-
I picked St. Rose of Lima because of her story and how she was strongly devoted to God.
I would like to nominate Pauli Murray for the golden halo. She lived from 1910 to 1985. An African-American, she championed Civil Rights, and Women’s Rights. She was respected by FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, and JFK, Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She was also the first female African-American Episcopal Priest,.a published author and the National Trust For Historic Preservation is working to preserve the house she was raised in. She is so significant that others have probably nominated her. I don’t want to assume that that is the case,
I nominate Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard came into my life 2 months ago via a Bacci chocolate. The quote in that chocolate “Your light never leaves me and burns in my soul”, I was intrigued by the woman who wrote this, and after reading about her, I could not be more amazed.
Hildegard the abbess, the Christian mystic, the pharmacist/healer, the composer, the poet, the theologian, the lover of nature and all it’s gifts from God. In our current times of difficulty, for women, for the earth and for all who reside upon it, her words are still powerful after nearly 1000 years.
I nominate St Anthony of Padua. Through the years I have lost several items that were precious to me. I have asked St Anthony to intercede on my behalf in finding these things. He has always come through for me. He was a great preacher and theologian. He cared for the poor.
I nominate Bishop Paul Jones, September 04 in the Episcopal Church Calendar.
Paul Jones was Bishop of Utah until he was forced to resign due to being a pacifist and very vocal against war.
He founded FOR-Fellowship of Reconciliation and EPF – Episcopal Pacifist (now Peace) Fellowship Lived 1880 – 1941
I nominate Scholastica, 480 -543 AD.
Twin sister of Benedict. Credited with opening a first Benedictine abbey for women. She’s invoked against rain and storms.
I like her because I know what it’s like to live with a larger than life brother.
I nominate Saint Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard came into my life 2 months ago via a Bacci chocolate. The quote of the day, “Your light never leaves me and burns in my soul”. I was intrigued, who was this woman. Now, I am amazed.
Hildegard the Abbess, the Christian mystic, the composer, the phamacist/healer, the poet, the theologian, the lover of nature and all it’s amazing gifts from God. In our current times of difficulties for women, for the earth and for all who reside upon it, her words remain powerful after nearly 1000 years. Her words help to rekindle the flames of a world that has gone cold with greed and selfishness.
St Paul- I am nominating him because he started as a Pharisee and was converted on the road to Damascus. He is the author of 2/3 of the New Testament. Perhaps God can do more with people who have sinned and know what the fall is like!
St. Hubert.. saw the light when hunting and gave up his riches. There is also some Italian saint with the same story, st Hubert came first. I find it fascinating that two saints share the same story of seeing a cross between a deers antlers.
My nominee is Saint Columba (c.521-597 AD), Irish abbot, evangelist, missionary, scholar, soldier, & miracle worker. He’s more than just the dispatcher of the LOCH NESS MONSTER! WAY more!
Picture it. C.565 AD, Irish monk Columba was visiting the land of the Picts in the Scottish Highlands. He saw natives burying a man next to the River Ness who had been killed by a “water beast.” Columba laid his staff across the body of the man who revived. C. Then sent companion Luigne to swim across the river to fetch back a boat. When beast approached Luigne, Columba made sign of the cross & said, “Go no further. Do not touch the man. Go back at once.”
The creature fled & C’s men & the Picts gave thanks for the miracles. Immediately, the Picts were converted & baptized in the River Ness.
I nominate St. Columba for his lifetime of devotion & obedience to Christ, dedication to preaching the Gospel, founding of Iona & much more. Current issues of COPYRIGHT infringement & SANCTUARY continue today. He’s patron of copyrighters, poets, & many more.
St. Columba was:
AN EVANGELIST:
As a “pilgrim for Christ,” Columba converted Pictish King Brude & much of Scotland. He sent monks throughout Europe & beyond to gain converts & establish churches. “He launched the monastic migrations of the 7th & 8th centuries that laid the foundations of our western civilizations.”
A SCHOLAR:
He wrote 600 books + poetry. His Iona monks copied 1000’s of books, preserving them for future generations.(Remember the OLD Xerox ad with the monks & the copier?)
He trained as a monk under St. Finnian. He made a copy of F’s Psalter of St. Jerome. Finnian claimed the copy. King Diarmaid ruled against C, so F got the copy. (1st war waged due to copyright dispute + another issue ensued.)
WARRIOR:
Columba, a descendant of Irish kings & a clansman, joined in war against King Diarmaid(&Finnian) when Diarmaid removed & murdered a man who had claimed SANCTUARY with C.
Columba’s forces defeated the king’s. 3000 lives lost. (But C got his copy of Jerome’s Psalter back.)
PENITENT
Columba was sent from Ireland never to return to reclaim 3000 new pagan souls to replace those lost. C agreed with & accepted this & brought many beyond the death debt.
MIRACLE WORKER:
LOCH NESS MONSTER miracles were not surprising to Columba’s company because he was already worker of myriad miracles (Raising dead, water into wine, etc.) Miracles continued throughout lifetime.
ONE OF 12 APOSTLES OF IRELAND:
Confrere of numerous saints. Traveled. Brought back to Derry a copy of Gospels that had belonged to St. Martin.
FOUNDER OF IONA:
His abbey became a center of Gaelic monasticism for 400 years. Still is.
GOOD GUY:
Clan inbred Irish temper, mostly threats. Made penance for (justifiable) war. Said to be warmhearted, generous, lover of animals. (He sent LOCH NESS MONSTER away, didn’t kill it. Still there, maybe. Probably?)
St. Adamnan wrote Columba was, “angelic in appearance, graceful in speech, holy in work” with “holy joyousness that ever beamed…with which the Holy Spirit filled his soul.”
There’s more. You can look it up. Times Book of Saints, ed. Ghezzi. Pocket Book of Saints, ed. Delaney. National Catholic Registry article by Angelo Stagnaro. Adamnan’s biog. The Venerable St. Bede. Wikipedia will find most of these.
Nominate St. Columba, please. I’ll be proud to buy his coffee mug after everyone agrees & votes with me. XX’sBB’s
I nominate St Elizabeth of the Trinity (1890-1906), Carmelite of Dijon France.
She was a near contemporary of St Thérèse of Lisieux, whose life and teaching helped her to become more trusting in the face of incurable illness, inner suffering, and intense persecution of the church by the French government.
She has an important teaching of her own and needs to be better known.
Her feast is on 8 November.
I nominate Eric Liddell (Scotsman) missionary in China, and teacher at the Tiensin Anglo-Chinese College from 1926 until the Japanese occupation during World War II. Along with other Westerners he was held in a Japanese internment camp, where he ministered to his fellow inmates. He died in the camp in 1945. He is best known perhaps for his refusal to compete in the 100-meter race at the 1924 Paris Olympics because it was scheduled for a Sunday, as well as for his subsequent first-place win in the 400-meter race for which he had not trained. His feast day is February 22.
The film “Chariots of Fire” commemorates his refusal to run on Sunday and also the missionary faith of his family that supported him. It’s a great film (full of track running and wonderful costumes) There is also a sub plot about the anti-Semitism his team mate Harold Abrahams experienced.
Thank you. Yes, “Chariots of Fire” was released in 1981 – and includes the singing of the hymn Jerusalem – with the verses of the poet William Blake (“..bring me my chariot of fire”). There’s another movie – “The Last Race” – made in China about Mr. Liddell’s life post-Olympics, in China (where he was born). It was released in 2016, but I’m not sure if it made it to the market in the United States.
St. Andre of Montreal. It’s a no-brainer.
After graduating from seminary, Paul Jones moved to the missionary diocese of Utah and worked for the same wages as an elevator attendant. He was a prominent Christian Socialist and pacifist, and eventually became the bishop of Utah. Because of his opposition to World War I, Bishop Jones was brought before the House of Bishops, which recommended Jones take a leave of absence based on his opposition to government policy. Jones resigned his see, a witness of peace and nonviolence. After taking a teaching position at Antioch College, he wrote: “The leadership of today is the prize of successful conformity to the world as it is. Leadership with God takes one into those currents where creative changes are taking place. It means catching something of his vision of the world and letting him work through one, sharing in the work of deepening the richness of human relations, revealing the reality of human brotherhood and not caring what one’s portion may be so long as one has the consciousness of being a fellow worker with God.”
For several decades, the Episcopal Church’s liturgical calendar has remembered Bishop Jones on September 4.
I nominate St. Isidore of Seville. Named by Pope John Paul II as patron of the internet, he is also patron of computer users and techies. A learned man, he was called “The Schoolmaster of the Middle Ages” because of the encyclopedia he wrote which was used as a textbook for nine centuries. He united a divided Spain (Catholic Romans and Arian Goths), making Spain a center of culture and learning, and a teacher and guide for other countries threatened by barbarian invaders. He required seminaries to be built, founded schools that included every branch of learning in the curriculum, wrote a Rule for religious orders and completed the Mozarabic liturgy. Increasing his charities in the last months of his life, “his house was crowded from morning till night with the poor of the countryside.”
To quote from the Franciscan Media website:
“Our society can well use Isidore’s spirit of combining learning and holiness. Loving, understanding and knowledge can heal and bring a broken people back together…….But people who are swamped by riches and overwhelmed by scientific and technological advances can lose much of their understanding love for one another.”
Third for St. Herman of Alaska! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_of_Alaska
Looking forward to Lent Madness 2020.
St. Aldhelm of Wessex – He was a scholar famed all the way to Rome, but he didn’t just sit in his monastic study writing Latin tracts for other clergy. He set Jesus’ life into Anglo-Saxon bardic songs and then went out with his harp and sang them in the marketplace. And he made up riddles, which have recently been poetically translated! http://www.amjuster.net/ald-dis He’s not only admirable, he’s fun!
I nominate Saint Martin of Tours for next year’s madness. Let’s be real here in the saint matchups; to have a soldier in the competition is really going to be a much watched and followed knock-out event. And, he is a soldier of compassion; you know the cloak story and how he shared his with a beggar in a snowstorm no less. It is time to raise the excitement bar and accept my nomination for Saint Martin of Tours!!
I would like to nominate Saint Rose of Lima. I think Saint Rose should be the winner because she is the patron saint of Peru and of all South America.
I nominate St. Wolfgang of Regensburg for Lent Madness 2020. I want to nominate him because of his work to reform the church in Germany in the 10th century. His works brought new life to the church in Germany, especially in Bavaria and Austria.
I nominate Saint Abraham of Kidunaia. He was a wise hermit that was born into a rich family. He had everything he needed to live a rich and full life, but he gave it up. He told his wife that he couldn’t marry her on his wedding day so he can commit himself to God. He was willing to make sacrifices to spread the good news of the Lord.
Nomination: St Rose Philippine Duchesne
I chose this saint because though she had wealthy beginnings she was able to open up two schools and help the people less fortunate than her. She opene3d up a free school in Missouri and a school for Indians as a woman in the mid-1800s.
I would like to nominate St. Joseph of Nazareth because he sacrificed so much for Jesus and Mary.
I nominate St. Cecilia. She should be nominated because I love her dedication to God. Even though she was about to be persecuted, she still had faith that God was going to make sure that she would go to heaven with God.
I would like to nominate Saint Mother Teresa because she was a leader. She founded “The Missionarites of Charity” to look after abandoned babies and to help the poorest of the poor. She helped others more than she helped herself.
I would like to nominate SAINT HELENA of the True Cross. I would like to namoinate this saint because of the huge role she played in the spread of Catochism and she discovered the Cross of Jesus. She was also the mother of Constantine the Great.
I nominate Pauli Murray because not only was she the first African-America woman ordained as an Episcopal priest, but was also a civil rights activist, lawyer, author, and feminist; she was a leader and a role model to all.
I would like to nominate Saint Therese of Lisieux because of her undying devotion to her faith even since she was a little girl.
I would like to nominate Saint Theresa of Alvia. After she became a nun, she fell ill with malaria. But, she never gave up on God and the work she had to fulfill for him. Throughout her journey of sickness and even after, she never gave up on herself and God. She is a true example of perseverance and having trust in God.
The Saint that I would like to nominate is Saint Anne. I chose Saint Anne because she is very kind and she is one of the saints that I look up to.
I would like to nominate Saint Rose of Lima. I want to nominate Saint Rose of Lima because of how devoted she was to God and to prayer in her daily life.
I would like to nominate Saint Paul the Apostle because he was one of the earliest Christian missionaries. I also think that he would be a great nomination because he was one of the most popular disciples.
I would like to nominate Saint Patrick for the Lent Madness 2020. I would choose Saint Patrick because he is the patron of Ireland. It is also funny since my parents got married on Saint Patrick’s Day.
I nominate Saint Philip Neri – one of he the most humble and goofiest of saints. The greater his reputation for holiness the sillier he became – in humble humility. So sorry to miss his feast day for this nomination (May 26). Though, if he were to win the Golden Halo, he’d find some way to have fun with it!
I would like to nominate Christian de Chergé, one of the seven monks from the Abbey of Our Lady of Atlas in Tibhirine, Algeria, kidnapped and believed to have been later killed by Islamists. Their story was dramatized in the film Of Gods and Men. He was beatified by the RCC in December 2018 and his feast day is 8 May. Prior to his capture, he wrote a testament to be opened and read if he died by violence. You can read it here: https://www.ocso.org/history/saints-blesseds-martyrs/testament-of-christian-de-cherge/
In this day of so much animosity between Muslims and Christians, I believe he is an inspirational choice for Lent Madness 2020.
thank you so much for nominating Pere Christian! He’s been my nomination for the past several years. This year I’ve put up Pere Jacques Bunol’s name but was feeling more than a little conflicted for not going with Pere Christian. Now I feel better knowing both saints are in the mix.
I nominate Saint Gregory the Great. He died while being one of the most prolific popes ever. He improved the welfare of the people in Rome. He is also known as one of the doctors of the church and a Latin father for his Latin writings.
I nominate Saint Paul. I nominate him because he is an apostle and is very devoted to Jesus.
I nominate Pere Jacques Bunol the real life saint behind Louis Malle’s master piece Au Revoir Les Enfants. Pere Jacques was a contemplative at heart who was called over and over again by G-d to live out his contemplative calling in the midst of a busy, deeply painful world: first within the walls of the Catholic school he ran and then within the midst of the concentration camp where he was sent for protecting his Jewish neighbors. It is said that while there he “sought out the abandoned and neglected and made a special point of befriending the communists” because he shared their love and respect for the poor. He died shortly after liberation caring for his fellow prisoners. His life was marked by humility, deep love, and by courage and generosity that was at once quiet and ferocious.
John Cardinal Newman would be an excellent candidate for Lent Madness. He is dead, on all the calendars of Saints, wrote beautifully and his biography is very interesting.
Sung to the hymn tune McKee (In Christ There is No East or West”
“In Christ There is No East or West”
He wrote the tune McKee
And spirituals came into vogue
As far as eyes can see.
Adapting songs learned in his youth
While on his grandpa’s knee:
The soulful strains of men in chains
Who long to be made free.
While born on Erie’s bitter shore,
Found fame in N-Y-C.
His singing altered Dvořák’s work
At the National Conservatory.
His hymns are still sung in our church
Filling our hearts and soul with glee.
The one I hope will win next year
Is named Harry T. Burleigh.
(Other hymns attributed to Burleigh include Go Down Moses, My Lord What a Morning, Wade in the Water, and Deep River, among others.)