Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the beloved Loyola Chicago basketball team chaplain, has passed away at the age of 106.
Jean rose to international fame during the school's fairy-tale run to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in 2018. She died on Thursday, October 9.
In August, the sister stepped down from her role with the university due to health challenges, though the school said she remained as an adviser in the final months of her life.
On Friday, October 10, Loyola University Chicago issued an emotional tribute for the sister on their official social media accounts.
"This is a tremendous loss of someone who touched the lives of so many people. We appreciate everyone’s thoughts & prayers during this difficult time," the statement read.
Sister Jean, born Dolores Bertha Schmidt on August 21, 1919, and renamed Sister Jean Dolores in 1937, became one of the most talked-about personalities during that 2018 NCAA Tournament.
She did countless interviews and was even celebrated with a bobblehead in her likeness.
Sister Jean Dolores published a memoir in 2023, Wake Up with Purpose! What I've Learned in My First 100 Years, sharing lessons she had learnt throughout her life and offering spiritual advice.
In 1994, she was asked to help student basketball players boost their grades and referred to herself as "the booster shooter".
The same year, she was named chaplain of the men's basketball team, a role which she described in her memoir as "the most transformational and transcendent position" she took over in her life.
