Category Archives: First Round

Damien of Molokai vs. Frances Perkins

Holy Blowout Week continued yesterday as Benedict took Anne to the (holy vestment) cleaners. Today, features the long-anticipated match-up between Big Pineapple and Big Lobster as the Hawaiian Damien of Molokai takes on the Mainer Frances Perkins. Can the Hawaii lobby do for Damien what it did for Queen Emma last year? Last year’s Lent […]

Benedict of Nursia vs. Anne

Another day, another romp. At least that’s what many were thinking after Harriet Tubman trounced Nicholas Ferrar in yesterday’s Lent Madness showdown. Today we’re anticipating a much closer match-up as the father of monasticism takes on the grandmother of Jesus. Is blood thicker than compline? This and other questions will be answered by the Lent […]

Nicholas Ferrar vs. Harriet Tubman

A day after the biggest whuppin’ of Lent Madness 2013, we meet two more fascinating figures on our continuing journey toward the Golden Halo. At first glance, Nicholas Ferrar, an early 17th-century Englishman, and Harriet Tubman, a 19th-century African-American born into slavery, seemingly have nothing in common. But of course, that’s the thing about Lent […]

Chad of Lichfield vs. Florence Li-Tim Oi

After a bruising match-up between two heavyweights, I think everyone’s ready to get back to a bit of Lent Madness “normalcy.” Yesterday’s match-up had emotions running high as Martin Luther King, Jr. took on Martin Luther. This was like Kentucky squaring off against Duke in the first round or Borg taking on McEnroe in a […]

Martin Luther vs. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Welcome back to Lent Madness! We trust everyone survived early onset Lent Madness Withdrawal (LMW) over the weekend and is ready for another full week of  voting. Thanks to Lent Madness more people than ever before now look forward to both Lent and Mondays. A Monday in Lent? Pure Nirvana. In one of the most […]

John Donne vs. Agnes of Rome

We finish up the first full week of Lent Madness with a match-up between a 17th-century priest and poet and a young, early 4th-century martyr. John Donne made it into the official bracket by defeating T.S. Eliot in the final play-in round known as the Great Poetry Slam. By winning that battle, Donne proclaimed to the […]

Samuel Seabury vs. Hilda of Whitby

In what seems to be shaping up as the Year of the Martyr, today’s pairing involves not a whit of martyrdom. The first bishop of the Episcopal Church faces a 7th- century monastic leader and both died of natural causes! Yesterday, in a most lopsided match-up, Oscar Romero made quick work of Elizabeth Ann Seton […]

Oscar Romero vs. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Today’s matchup features two Roman Catholics, the martyred archbishop of El Salvador and an American nun known for her charity and educational work. See, we’re doing our part for Christian unity here at Lent Madness. However, lest you think this was a diabolical attempt to pit them against one another, don’t forget Dorothy Day is […]

Thomas Tallis vs. Janani Luwuum

The (Lent) Madness continues with another surreal pairing — this time between an influential 16th-century church musician and a 20th-century Ugandan archbishop and martyr. This match-up even has the holy odds-makers in Vegas shaking their collective heads. Yesterday, Luke outpaced Absalom Jones by a wide margin, 61% to 39% with over 4,500 votes cast, though […]

Absalom Jones vs. Luke

With the short “Ash Week” behind us, we’re plowing ahead into the first full week of Lent Madness 2013. We’ve already seen some nail biters, some controversy, and some bracket-busting upsets. Today we have the first African-American Episcopal priest facing off against the writer of one of the synoptic gospels. Some have commented over the […]