Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, Loyola Chicago chaplain and March Madness star, dies at 106

CHICAGO (AP) — Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the chaplain for the Loyola Chicago men’s basketball team who became a beloved international celebrity during the school’s fairytale run to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament in 2018, has died, the university announced Thursday evening.

She was 106. Health problems caused her to step down from her role at the university in August, although the school said she remained as a counselor in the final months of her life.

“In many roles at Loyola over more than 60 years, Sister Jean was an invaluable source of wisdom and grace to generations of students, faculty and staff,” said Mark C. Reed, Loyola president.

“While we feel sadness and a sense of loss, there is great joy in her legacy,” Reed said. “Her presence was a profound blessing to our entire community and her spirit lives on in thousands of lives. In her honor, we can strive to share with others the love and compassion that Sister Jean shared with us.”

Sister Jean – born Dolores Bertha Schmidt on August 21, 1919 and subsequently renamed Sister Jean Dolores in 1937 – became one of the most talked-about personalities during that 2018 NCAA Tournament. She did countless interviews and was even celebrated with a bobblehead in her likeness.

She published one memoirs in 2023, “Wake Up with a Purpose! What I Learned in My First 100 Years,” in which she shares the lessons she has learned throughout her life and provides spiritual advice.