Chicagoland

Sister Jean becomes national ambassador for Loyola, God

By Joyce Duriga | Editir
Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Loyola’s living legend inducted into hall of fame

Longtime men's basketball team chaplain and Loyola icon BVM Sr. Jean Dolores Schmidt, 97, attends a game on Feb. 12, 2017. She’s been at Loyola for over a half century and has served as chaplain of the men’s basketball team since the early 1990s.
Longtime men's basketball team chaplain and Loyola icon BVM Sr. Jean Dolores Schmidt, 97, attends a game on Feb. 12 wearing her custom monogrammed Nike's. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Left, Loyola Ramblers forward Aundre Jackson and guard Lucas Williamson join members of the men's basketball team in greeting fans and family as they return to the university's campus in Chicago March 18 after securing a place in the Sweet Sixteen NCAA tournament. They beat the Tennessee Volunteers 63-62 on March 17. The team's chaplain, BVM Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, 98, has been called the team's "good luck charm" by national news media. She's been interviewed by Good Morning America, ESPN, USA Today and other news outlets as the team has earned two unlikely wins in the tournament. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
From left, Donte Ingram, Clayton Custer and Ben Richardson, all guards for the Ramblers, greet fans. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
The Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team greet fans and family at the rally on March 18. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Fans cheer as team members speak at the rally. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Fans cheer as team members speak at the rally. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Fans cheer as team members speak at the rally. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, 98, longtime chaplain of the Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team and campus icon, smiles during an appearance on "Windy City Live" March 12 to discuss her bracket and the team's NCCA tournament run. (CNS photo/courtesy Loyola University Chicago)
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, 98, longtime chaplain of the Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team and campus icon, embraces a player after the team's win in the first round game of the NCAA Tournament against the University of Miami March 15 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. (CNS photo/courtesy Loyola University Chicago)
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, 98, longtime chaplain of the Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team and campus icon, greets a player after the team won in the first round game of the NCAA Tournament against the University of Miami March 15 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. (CNS photo/courtesy Loyola University Chicago)
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, 98, longtime chaplain of the Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team and campus icon, right, makes a March 12 appearance on "Windy City Live" with Tracy Butler and co-host Ryan Chiaverini. Sister Jean talked about her bracket and the team's NCCA tournament run. Chiaverini is holding up a bobblehead of Sister Jean. (CNS photo/courtesy Loyola University Chicago)
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt holds onto a bobblehead made in her likeness while recuperating from hip surgery on Jan. 17. The bobblehead is sold in campus bookstores. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt prays with the 2017-2018 Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team near the beginning of their season. (Photo courtesy of Loyola University Chicago)
Sister Jean is greeted by a Loyola student. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Sister Jean prayed with Loyola players in this file photo. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Sister Jean watches the game from the sidelines. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Sister Jean shook hands with one of the players. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Loyola fans cheered as Sister Jean made her way onto the court. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Sister Jean (left) greeted the crowd at the game along with university president JoAnn Rooney (right). (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Sister Jean (center) spoke to the crowd during the game as university president JoAnn Rooney (right) shared a laugh with her. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt (center) gave a thumbs-up as she was formally inducted into the Loyola University Sports Hall of Fame on Jan. 21 at Gentile Arena. Athletic Director Steve Watson (left) and university president JoAnn Rooney (right) inducted her. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
The crowd stood up to applaud Sister Jean on being formally inducted into the hall of fame. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Sister Jean shook hands with players leaving the court during half-time on Feb. 12. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)
Loyola University’s mascot hugged Sister Jean prior to a game on Feb. 12. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

When the Loyola University Ramblers men’s basketball team made it into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985, the tight-knit team from Chicago was thrust into the national spotlight.

After the team won its first game against the Miami Hurricanes on March 15, that spotlight found their chaplain BVM Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt. The ,98-year-old nun became everyone’s favorite fan, making an appearance on Good Morning America and fielding interviews from national media outlets such as ESPN and the New York Times, to name a few. Her story has been shared across social media and picked up by nearly every major news outlet around the country.

Her easy smile and natural energy and enthusiasm have captivated people worldwide. She’s also brought a little bit of God into the national tournament, sharing her prayers for and with the team. 

While the world’s media is captivated by the story of this petite nun, in Chicago, she has been a living legend for quite some time. 

Until she was sidelined late last year with hip surgery following a fall, the 5-foot nun could be seen at every home game of the men’s team. She’s most often decked out in Loyola gear and wearing her trademark maroon Nike tennis shoes with gold laces that have “Sister” stitched onto the heel of her left shoe and “Jean” stitched on the heel of her right shoe.

After rehab, Sister Jean moved back into the dorms, where she lives alongside the students and serves as a chaplain. 

Born in San Francisco in 1919, Sister Jean played basketball growing up and, in 1937, joined the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Iowa. She was 18. She taught in elementary schools and also volunteered as a coach in Los Angeles public schools when she was teaching in that city.

In 1961, Sister Jean took a teaching job at Mundelein College, the women’s college located next to Loyola in Rogers Park. Mundelein merged with Loyola in 1991 and just a few years later, in 1994, Sister Jean became chaplain of the men’s basketball team. 

Topics:

  • basketball
  • loyola university chicago

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