Sister Jean, Loyola Chicago icon and basketball chaplain, dead at 106

Jean Dolores Schmidt, the beloved Loyola Chicago men’s basketball chaplain known as “Sister Jean,” died on Thursday, the school announced.

She was 106. 

Sister Jean became a national sports icon during Loyola Chicago’s miraculous Final Four run in 2018 as an No. 11 seed. 

She became the official chaplain of the Ramblers in 1991 and was as much a part of the team’s surprise run in 2018 as the players themselves. 

Sister Jean died on Thursday at 106 years old. AP

“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 Thursday. “While we feel grief and a sense of loss, there is great joy in her legacy. 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.”

Her death comes just weeks after it was reported by the Loyola Phoenix that she had retired from her position as campus minister and chaplain for the men’s basketball team amid concerns for her health. 

She did not attend the NIT semifinals in April, the student-run newspaper reported. 

Sister Jean became a beloved national sports icon during Loyola Chicago’s miraculous Final Four run in 2018 as an 11-seed in the NCAA tournament.  Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Sister Jean’s passion for the men’s basketball team was on display throughout her tenure as team chaplain, and in her memoir, “Wake Up with Purpose!: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years,” she wrote that “basketball fascinates me” and compared it to “a game of chess.” 

Sister Jean told the Chicago Sun-Times in 2024 that she lived the 2018 Final Four run “over and over again, it was just so fun. She also gave a memorable pregame prayer in 2021 ahead of an NCAA tournament game against Illinois.

“As we play the Fighting Illini, we ask for special help to overcome this team and get a great win,” she said. “We hope to score early and make our opponents nervous. We have a great opportunity to convert rebounds as this team makes about 50 percent of layups and 30 percent of its [3-pointers]. Our defense can take care of that.”

Loyola Chicago said it would soon announce visitation and funeral arrangements.