The Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness congratulates Absalom Jones for winning the 2021 Golden Halo. Absalom becomes the 12th saint to wear the highly coveted crown by defeating the always-inspiring Benedict the Moor. He joins previous Golden Halo winners George Herbert (2010), C.S. Lewis (2011), Mary Magdalene (2012), Frances Perkins (2013), Charles Wesley (2014), Francis of Assisi (2015), Dietrich Bonhoeffer (2016), Florence Nightingale (2017), Anna Alexander (2018), Martha of Bethany (2019), and Harriet Tubman (2020).
To celebrate the victory of Absalom Jones, maybe you’d like a commemorative mug? You can enjoy your favorite warm beverage (the SEC recommends fair trade single-origin coffee, though they understand these also work well with tea) while remembering this epic season of Lent Madness 2021. Order your own mug today! They’re just $12 and should ship sometime in late spring.
Would you like to nominate a saint for Lent Madness 2022? Tim and Scott will be opening up the week-long nomination process (aka Nominationtide) in the coming weeks. While many are called, only 32 are chosen. Stay tuned for details!
Finally, blessings to all as we head into the Triduum and enter into the death and resurrection of our Lord. It’s been a privilege to have you join us on our Lenten pilgrimage. Stay safe out there, and know that you remain fervently in our prayers.
I’d like to nominate Saint Charbel of Lebanon.
It is not yet Nominationtide. Be sure to keep an eye on https://www.lentmadness.org/ for the announcement of when that will be as that is the only time and place that the nominations are accepted for consideration.
May I respectfully request that you consider, in addition to the Golden Halo mug, a Silver Halo soup bowl. We have a Julian of Norwich Silver Halo bowl and would love a Benedict one to go with it! Thanks for considering! Shirley
Great idea!
The link to order the mug is not working!
I went to the Lentorium tab at LentMadness dot org and clicked the link there and it loaded just nicely to https://www.forwardmovement.org/Products/2620/2021-golden-halo-winner-mug.aspx
Really appreciate the humor that you add to our observance of Lent. Also, learning about some of the saints formerly unknown to us is great. Keep it up.
Thank you all for the enlightening information! You help make Lent for me!
Both finalists are very worthy of winning. Absalom will be great on his mug, but we also want Benedict to be represented. Please let us know the plan.
Nice Mug. Ordered mine. But, only billed $11.00 + Shipping. Yea!
Thank you for this opportunity each Lent. My husband and I look forward to Lent Madness every year.
Thank you for all the time, energy, thought and prayer that went into Lent Madness. I look forward to it each year. Blessings to all.
It has been a reLENTless joy participating in March Madness for the first time. I have learned so much about the various saints all of whom are deserving of honor. Thank you in the extreme to the Lent Madness team for your hard work and wit creating March Madness. Kudos. Happy Easter.
Jones, Jones, Jones, Jones I’ve been jonesing for a mug to go with my Harriet Tubman one. There should be a Silver Runner up Halo cup for Benedict as well.
Thank you for this Lenten journey, it was good to feel like a part of a community, not so isolated & quarantined even if we were. I will miss being in this room with friends.
Now the somberness of the season begins the journey to joy in the resurrection.
Happy Easter! Let’s all say Alleluia! Alleluia!! Alleluia!!!
Thank you all for another entertaining, enlightening and fun Lent Madness! Looking forward to adding the Absalom mug to sit with my Martha of Bethany. Happy Easter, everybody!
Thank you for a great Lenten devotion.
I was wondering who would have won a matchup between Jones and Richard Allen, which would have been a formidable pairing in the bracket to match their complementary work in real life. I guess we’ll never know, now that Jones has ascended to the LM Golden Halo pantheon (or panhagion?). Maybe in 20 years, after 32 iterations, there could be an LM where the 32 Golden Halo winners face off!
I agree or they could do as I suggested elsewhere, do it with the top two from each year once there have been 16 complete years of LM.
thank you to all who made this possible! i love reading about each of the saints and learning something each season.
Scott & Tim,
Thank you so much for another wonderful year of Lent Madness!! I remember you Tim from your
days at Church of the Holy Comforter in Lutherville, MD. You two do such a good job on putting
this together each year – it is the highlight of my day during my Lent journey.
I thought Absalom would probably win, and yes, I voted for him. Hugs all ’round, you folks…this Lutheran has loved Lent Madness for several years now, and blesses Episcopalian son and daughter in law for alerting me to its existence. So enjoy learning about ancient and modern saints, although standing firmly in the Lutheran tradition that we are all simultaneously sinners and saints…said with a smile, you understand. Happy Easter is coming. Live in hope. Jan C.
Thank you to all those who help bring Lent Madness to us. I’ve been following since 2013 and have learned a lot about some of the best known saints…and also some of the lesser known ones. This is a wonderful experience as Lent comes around each year.
THANK YOU to everyone who helps make Lent Madness possible each year. It is a wonderful production, and I sometimes wonder if Lent should be THIS FUN! I look forward to seeing Oscar Romero, Julian of Norwich, and the martyrs of the 1960’s voter drives–and so many others–receiving the Golden Halo. Perhaps one of us! Thank you, SEC, wondrous bloggers, support staff, and fellow pilgrims. Until next year, stay well, and keep walking.
Thanks for helping me to be disciplined in my Lent meditation! I appreciate your diligent research and added good humor!
Thank you for all your hard work in putting together the annual Lent Madness. I’m already looking forward to the 2022 version. I wish you a blessed and holy Triduum, and a blessed and joyful Day of Resurrection. My parish, the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in the Diocese of Rupert’s Land of the Anglican Church of Canada, will hold in-person worship on Easter Day, the first since March 15,2020. Rejoice with us!
You are in Manitoba or Ontario? Hallelujah that you will worship in person. That is such good news.
I would like to nominate St. Marguerite Bourgeoys.
It is not yet Nominationtide. Be sure to keep an eye on https://www.lentmadness.org/ for the announcement of when that will be as that is the only time and place that the nominations are accepted for consideration.
Thank you to all involved in yet another wonderful Lenten journey! A Blessed Triduum and a Joyous Easter to all!
I also give many thanks to the SEC, all the Celebrity Bloggers, and the wonderful people behind the scenes for another year of Lent Madness. I so much look forward to it every year, and none of my friends can really understand why I get so excited about 2 November — All Brackets Day. But you who write these comments, and others who read them without writing your own, understand. What a fun community to be part of. I love you all. See you next year.
I guess All Brackets Day is really 3 November. Oh well. In my community we call that a brain fart.
We love you Kathy, wherever you are.