- Sister Jean, the 106-year-old chaplain for the Loyola-Chicago men’s basketball team, is retiring from her official duties.
- Health concerns led to the decision after she was unable to attend a game in April, the school’s student publication reported.
- She became a national sensation during the team’s 2018 Final Four run.
Sister Jean, who became a sensation during Loyola-Chicago’s run through the 2018 NCAA Tournament, is officially retiring as the school’s minister and chaplain for the men’s basketball team.
According to The Loyola Phoenix, the school’s student publication, Sister Jean, who turned 106 on Aug. 23, had to give up her duties as health concerns surfaced and she was not able to attend the men’s basketball team’s NIT semifinal game against Chattanooga in April.
‘While Sister Jean is no longer able to be physically present on campus, she remains a beloved friend, trusted advisor, and loyal Rambler – cheering for our teams and praying for us all daily,’ Loyola-Chicago President Mark C. Reed said in a statement.
On her birthday, Sister Jean wrote a message to the student’s of Loyola-Chicago, encouraging them to ‘Let your dreams become reality. Don’t let anybody stop you. You are the future leaders of our churches, our schools, our country, and our world.’
Sister Jean, whose full name is Jean Dolores Schmidt, started teaching at Mundelein College in Chicago in 1961 and the school merged with Loyola in 1991.
She started as the chaplain in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2018, when the Ramblers, as a No. 11 seed, made a magical run to the Final Four of the men’s tournament, that she was a constant presence courtside and inspiration to millions as cameras focused on her during the team’s games.