Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, a longtime group chaplain for Loyola University Chicago, has died at the age of 106, the college announced on Thursday.
Famously known as Sister Jean, she grew to become luck attraction for the Ramblers basketball group after reaching TV fame in 2018 when cameras confirmed her pre-game prayer and her cheering from the sidelines as the group went on a Cinderella run at the NCAA match.
“In many roles at Loyola over the course of more than 60 years, Sister Jean was an invaluable source of wisdom and grace for generations of students, faculty, and staff,” Loyola President Mark C. Reed stated in a press release.
“While we feel grief and a sense of loss, there is great joy in her legacy. Her presence was a profound blessing for our entire community and her spirit abides in thousands of lives. In her honor, we can aspire to share with others the love and compassion Sister Jean shared with us.”
Sister Jean was born Dolores Bertha Schmidt on August 21, 1919, earlier than taking the title Sister Jean Dolores in 1937.
She began educating at Mundelein College in Chicago in 1961 earlier than the varsity merged with Loyola in 1991.
In 1994, she began as the varsity’s chaplain earlier than turning into a viral sensation in the course of the 2018 males’s NCAA basketball match.
The Ramblers went on to achieve the Final Four, earlier than dropping to the University of Michigan.
Sister Jean retired in August from her duties at the college because of well being considerations, although she reportedly remained an adviser within the last months of her life.
While talking to NCS’s Coy Wire in 2021, Sister Jean revealed how she helped encourage the gamers together with her prayers.
“I plan them – every one. You should see the collection I have in my room. I never say the same prayer, any time, over the years. It’s always different for every game,” she stated.
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