Sister Jean dead at 106

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the beloved chaplain for Loyola Chicago’s men’s basketball team, has died at 106.

Sister Jean retired from her role two weeks ago due to health concerns, shortly after her birthday.

“In many roles at Loyola over the course of more than 60 years, Sister Jean was an invaluable source of wisdom and grace for generations of students, faculty, and staff,” Loyola President Mark C. Reed said in a statement.

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Loyola Ramblers team chaplain Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt celebrates at the Gentile Arena after Loyola Chicago moved into the Final Four.  (Patrick Gorski/USA TODAY Sports)

“While we feel grief and a sense of loss, there is great joy in her legacy,” Reed said. “Her presence was a profound blessing for our entire community and her spirit abides in thousands of lives. In her honor, we can aspire to share with others the love and compassion Sister Jean shared with us.”

Sister Jean — born Dolores Bertha Schmidt on Aug. 21, 1919, then taking the name Sister Jean Dolores in 1937 — became one of the most talked-about personalities during the 2018 NCAA Tournament, as the Ramblers Cinderella run included a trip all the way to the Final Four.

Sister Jean’s news conference at that NCAA Tournament, she was told, drew more journalists than Tom Brady at the Super Bowl. Her likeness appeared on everything from socks to a Lego statue at her gallery in Loyola’s art museum.

Loyola Ramblers fan Sister Jean looks on as the Ramblers receive the Missouri Valley Trophy after defeating the Drake Bulldogs in the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 6, 2022.  (Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports)

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In 2023, she traveled to New York for the team’s first-round matchup in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.

During that trip, she made an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” where she shared the three simple things she attributes to living a long and healthy life.

“Well, I tell people when they ask me that question that I eat well, I sleep well and, hopefully, I pray well,” she said at the time. “My basketball team, it keeps me young. All these young people keep me young at heart. I can’t walk, but they keep me young at heart.”

Born in San Francisco, Sister Jean grew up in a devoutly Catholic family. She witnessed the impact of the Great Depression, World War II and the building of the Golden Gate Bridge, which she recalls crossing on foot when it opened in 1937.

Loyola University of Chicago’s Sister Jean shows off the NCAA Final Four ring she received before an NCAA college basketball game between Loyola of Chicago and Nevada in Chicago on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

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Her religious calling, she said, came at the age of 8. She was in third grade when she met a kind, joyful teacher who belonged to the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Brimming with admiration, she would pray every day: “Dear God, help me understand what I should do, but please tell me I should become a BVM sister,” she recounted in her memoir.

“I guess God listened to me on that one,” she wrote.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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