SISTER JEAN, R.I.P.

Even though she was one-hundred-and-six-years-old, I literally gasped when I read the sad news that the adorable Sister Jean, the beloved Chaplain of the Loyola University Chicago basketball team, had died. It’s truly a loss for the world.

I usually pay tribute here on INAM to only people I either really know or have at least met or have some kind of connection to. But Sister Jean was the person I’ve most wanted to meet in the seven years since I was first made aware of her. And she was absolutely darling, so I’m happy to laud her here to mark her passing.

Upon learning of her leaving this level of life, I looked over what I’ve written about Sister Jean through the years, in several of my March Madness* articles, and I can’t sum-up my feelings for her better now than I did then. So I’m sharing bits of what I wrote in those columns. *[Note: For you non sports fans, “March Madness” is the semi-official moniker for the annual big-deal college basketball tournament.]

Here are a few of those admiring thoughts:

In 2018, I wrote: “I took a few notes along the way, all three weeks of it, and I’m happy to say that my very first one was, ‘Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt—Loyola-Chicago.’ At their very first mention of her, I was all in. She was a star in my mind, so I’m thrilled that she became the biggest one of the tournament as it went on. I right away tweeted, ‘I sooo love that when Loyola-Chicago’s Ramblers won today, instead of interviewing the coach, the sideline reporter interviewed Sister Jean, the team’s adorable 98-year-old chaplain!!!  Good call, TruTV!’ ”

In 2021, I wrote: “But the thing I’m looking the most forward in this entire three-week tournament is…seeing Sister Jean again! For you March Madness nescients, she’s the now-one-hundred-one-year-old Chaplain for the Loyola of Chicago team, who made it to the Final Four in 2018, but haven’t been back since. And this now-famous nun is just about the most pleasant person I’ve ever seen! I would love to meet her more than almost anybody else in the world! [Note: She’s being allowed to be at the tourney because all the safety protocols have been followed. I’m so happy for her, the team, and all of us, actually—Sister Jean is who the world needs right now!]”

In 2022, I wrote: “Also back, but very hopefully not even close to the last time, is Loyola Chicago’s good luck charm, one-hundred-two-year-old chaplain Sister Jean, the person in this world I’d most like to be friends with. She’s the most positive person I’ve ever witnessed! There’s always a smile on her face, no matter what is happening.”

In 2025, I wrote: “Every year, some very unexpected person emerges from March Madness as the star. And it’s rarely a player or coach. For example, in 2018, it was Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the now-one-hundred-and-five-year-old Chaplain for the Loyola-Chicago team. She’s adorable, and is the most universally-beloved person I’ve ever seen. And she’s still working!!!”

And now I add to all of the above that I seriously never saw this woman without a gigantic smile on her face. She loved her team, she loved her school, she loved her job, and she absolutely loved life!

I remember when Charles Barkley met Sister Jean in 2018, and I was so jealous. Not of her to meet him, but of Charles for meeting the kind nun! No lie.

I adore that Loyola Chicago’s men’s basketball team will honor Sister Jean this season by wearing a patch, which features her image, on their jerseys.

I join all her fans, both in college basketball and beyond, in mourning this wonderful woman.

R.I.P. Sister Jean.