Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the former Loyola Ramblers team chaplain who became a famous figure during the men’s basketball team’s run to the Final Four in 2018, has died at the age of 106. He announced this in a statement on Thursday evening:
“Loyola University Chicago is deeply saddened to confirm the death of Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM. This is a tremendous loss of someone who touched the lives of so many people. We appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
Sister Jean served the students of Loyola for more than sixty years. retired last month. A frequent presence at Loyola sporting events, she rose to national prominence when her No. 11-seeded Ramblers embarked on a Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament, upsetting No. 6 Miami, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 7 Nevada and No. 9 Kansas State before ultimately falling to No. 3 Michigan in the Final Four.
Sister Jean was born Dolores Bertha Schmidt on August 21, 1919 and joined the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1937. She began teaching at Mundelein College in 1961 and found her way to Loyola University Chicago when Mundelein merged with Loyola in 1991. Sister Jean became chaplain for the men’s basketball team in 1994.
“In many roles at Loyola over more than 60 years, Sister Jean was an invaluable source of wisdom and grace to generations of students, faculty and staff,” Loyola President Mark C. Reed said in a statement. “While we feel sadness and a sense of loss, there is great joy in her legacy. Her presence was a profound blessing to our entire community and her spirit lives on in thousands of lives. In her honor, we can strive to share with others the love and compassion that Sister Jean shared with us.”
Although Sister Jean will be remembered by sports fans for her work on the Loyola basketball team, she was much, much more than that. She provided spiritual support to college students, held weekly prayer groups for students, and started a program called SMILE (Students who come into the lives of the elderly). This project helped Loyola students connect with an assisted living community called The Clare, and aimed to “form intergenerational – and meaningful – relationships.”
‘That is being a person for others, by just being yourself’ Sister Jean once said. “That’s who I am. I have to be myself. I tell the students that: you will see people you admire, you can do some of the things they do, but you have to be yourself. God made you the person you are.”
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