Loyola's Sister Jean grapples with health issues as she turns 106: 'You can still celebrate'
Sister Jean’s birthday looks a little different this year.
Sister Jean Dolores Bertha Schmidt, the beloved nun and basketball chaplain at Loyola University Chicago, turned 106 Thursday. Typically, she celebrates with an on-campus birthday party, media interviews and conversations with students — her favorite part.
But a “bad summer cold and other health issues” have changed her plans, according to a news release from Loyola President Mark Reed and Sister Jean.
"That makes me very sad, but you can still celebrate," she wrote in a message to Loyola students and staff.
Sister Jean stole the spotlight in 2018 when the Loyola men’s basketball team busted brackets in the NCAA March Madness tournament, making its way to the Final Four. Viewers all over the country were charmed by Loyola and especially Sister Jean, who, clad in a maroon-and-gold scarf, supported the team with daily prayers and motivation.
Since then, she has been immortalized in bobblehead form, interviewed by national and international media outlets, thrown the ceremonial first pitch at Cubs games and stayed young at heart through it all.
“I don’t really think about being old,” she told the Sun-Times days before her 104th birthday in 2023.
She has been a part of Loyola and the former Mundelein College for more than 60 years after moving to Chicago in 1961. Sister Jean, of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was born in San Francisco on Aug. 21, 1919.
Her secrets to a long life are simple: loving others and God, caring for your mind and body and being around young people.
“You have to be considerate of other people, and you have to keep talking to the youth wherever you’re working because their energy transfers easily to you,” Sister Jean told the Sun-Times ahead of her 105th birthday last summer.
This year, she encouraged students to take part in her birthday celebrations as they prepare to start fall classes Monday. She vowed to be with them “in spirit” in a message to Loyola staff and students Thursday.
“It has been wonderful for me to be with you these years and to watch you grow spiritually, intellectually, and socially, and to see the friends you’ve made,” she wrote. “And to see the progress you’ve made in your academic life. I’ve always been happy to share my time with you.”
A longtime celebrity on Loyola’s campus, Sister Jean is known to keep her office door open, bestowing advice and wisdom upon students who pop in and say hello. She’s no longer on campus physically, but her presence is still known, Reed said.
“While Sister Jean is no longer able to be physically present on campus, she remains a beloved friend, trusted adviser, and loyal Rambler—cheering for our teams and praying for us all daily,” Reed wrote.
This year, she urged new students to get outside their comfort zones and make new friends as they embark on their college career.
“Let your dreams become reality,” she wrote “Don’t let anybody stop you. You are the future leaders of our churches, our schools, our country, and our world.”