One of the best-loved figures at Loyola Chicago, Sister Jean, the University’s Chaplain, has passed away at 106

Loyola remembers a dearly-loved mentor whose belief and love deeply influenced the lives of the people she met

The death of Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt has been announced. The beloved chaplain for Loyola University Chicago’s men’s basketball team — who also acted as a scout and unofficial assistant coach — passed away in Illinois on Thursday, Oct. 9, the university announced.
“Through various functions at Loyola, Sister Jean was the university’s most valuable resource of insight and love for thousands of students, faculty, and staff,” said the president of Loyola, Mark C. Reed. “It is certainly sad and still great joy in her legacy. Her presence was a blessing beyond words for our whole community and her spirit continues in thousands of lives. As a tribute to her, we can become more like her and, thus, reflect to others the love and empathy which Sister Jean showed to us.”

Sister Jean remembered for faith, hope and unwavering support

LaDonna Manternach, President of the BVM, said, “Sister Jean Dolores was essentially a prayer woman, a very caring and committed teacher, and a true bringer of light whose love for her BVM Community knew no bounds. She experienced God in everything that was around her and put her faith in His goodness. We shall miss her arrival to us.”
Impatient to root for the Ramblers at the NCAA men’s tournament in Indianapolis in 2021, Sister Jean made sure she received two COVID vaccinations so that she could be there in person. According to the Wall Street Journal, she was in a Chicago rehab facility for a hip injury and shingles before that.

From virtual prayers to viral moments

Sister Jean, who used to personally talk with the players before every game and send emails afterward, went out pregame prayers and motivational messages virtually due to the second pandemic in her lifetime. During Loyola’s 2021 March Madness run, her pregame prayer to the eighth-seeded Ramblers was viral before their defeat of No. 1 seed Illinois 71-58 in the second round (they got eliminated from the Sweet 16 by Oregon State,). In 2018, Sister Jean became a national sensation for the first time, as Loyola, the underdog, went on a winning streak of upset after upset to the Final Four.

Early life and calling to the BVM sisterhood

Before she entered the BVM, Sister Jean was more famous as Sister Dolores Bertha Schmidt. She was born during the Spanish flu outbreak on August 21, 1919, and was the first of three children. Jean was raised in San Francisco, California. When she was nine years old, the love for a Sister of the BVM, her teacher, was so strong that she herself wanted to become a Sister. She was given the name Sister Jean Dolores after the ceremony at the BVM Motherhouse in Dubuque, Iowa, and she started her war work in the Catholic schools of California during World War II. She was Mundelein College faculty from 1961, and subsequently, she was involved in the Loyola transfer of former Mundelein students when the two universities combined.

Sister Jean’s decades of devotion to Loyola athletes

At 75, in 1994, Sister Jean embarked on her academic support of student-athletes and later on by officially becoming the chaplain of the men’s basketball team. Her pregame rituals and her unfailing guidance which were her gifts to the program, eventually became an integral part of the program. She was among the inductees into the Loyola Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. “The young people I have the opportunity to work with is what I love. I do believe it is the reason that my heart has stayed young – not my body – but my heart all these years,” she said to the university in a profile made for her 100th birthday.
She was also Aunt of Alan Schmidt & Tricia Schmidt, mother of Tom Schmidt & Vickie Schmidt. Sister Jean’s mass of Christian burial will be announced by Loyola University.