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Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the beloved chaplain for Loyola Chicago’s men’s basketball team, is retiring at 106 years old due to health concerns, according to the school’s student newspaper.
Sister Jean, who has become a staple in the college basketball community and an important member of the Ramblers’ family since first being named team chaplain in 1994, has entered retirement just weeks after celebrating her 106th birthday.
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the Loyola University men’s basketball chaplain and school celebrity, sits for a portrait in The Joseph J. Gentile Arena, on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, in Chicago, Illinois. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Vice President of communications Christian Anderson confirmed to The Loyola Phoenix earlier this month that Schmidt will no longer serve in official duties. He did not expand on Sister Jean’s health concerns.
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“Sister Jean is retiring and stepping back from official duties at Loyola,” Anderson told the student newspaper. “We are mindful of Sister’s privacy in regards to health and can’t comment beyond what was mentioned in her [Aug. 21] message.”
In a message to the student body on her birthday, Sister Jean explained her absence on campus.
“Birthdays are special days, and this one is also very special. In fact, I am unable to be there because I have a bad summer cold and other health issues so it has been decided that I should not go to Lake Shore Campus to be with you on my birthday. That makes me very sad, but you can still celebrate.”
Loyola Ramblers fan Sister Jean looks on as the Ramblers receive the Missouri Valley Trophy after defeating the Drake Bulldogs in the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 6, 2022. (Jeff Curry/USA TODAY Sports)
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Sister Jean served as the team’s chaplain for 30 years, but came into the spotlight during Loyola’s improbable Final Four appearance in the 2018 NCAA championship tournament.
In 2023, she traveled to New York for the team’s first-round matchup in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament. She was 103 when she made the trip.
During that trip, she made an appearance on “Fox & Friends” where she shared the three simple things she attributes to living a long and healthy life.
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt speaks to press durring her 103rd birthday celebration at her new namesake, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM Plaza next to the Loyola Red Line station in Chicago, Illinois, on Aug. 21, 2022. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
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“Well, I tell people when they ask me that question that I eat well, I sleep well and, hopefully, I pray well,” she said at the time.
“My basketball team, it keeps me young. All these young people keep me young at heart. I can’t walk, but they keep me young at heart,” she added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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