Sister Jean, BVM (born Jean Dolores Schmidt, August 21, 1919), is an American

religious sister A religious sister (abbreviated ''Sr.'' or Sist.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to pra ...

of the

Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known by its initials BVM, is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded in the United States by Mother Mary Frances Clarke. Its founders were Irish Catholics. The BVM currently works in t ...

and chaplain for the

Loyola Ramblers men's basketball The Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represents Loyola University Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The Ramblers participate as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Ramblers joined the Missouri Valley Conference from 2013 to 2022, ending ...

team of Loyola University Chicago.

Early life

Jean Dolores Schmidt was born on August 21, 1919, in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and raised in the Eureka Valley neighborhood. She first considered becoming a nun while she was in third grade. As a student at St. Paul's High School, she played on the girls basketball team. After graduating from high school in 1937, she entered the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary convent in Iowa. In 1941, by then a sister, she returned to teach in California. Sister Jean completed her

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

at Mount St. Mary's College (now Mount St. Mary's University in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

) in 1949 and

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

at Loyola University of Los Angeles (now

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

) in 1961.

Career

Sister Jean began teaching at St. Bernard School in Glassell Park, California and then in 1946 taught at St. Charles Borromeo School in North Hollywood, California. Several students from her teaching days at St. Charles later entered religious life, including Cardinal Roger Mahoney, Fr. Thomas Rausch, S.J. and Sister Mary Milligan, RSHM. Sister Jean moved from California to teach at

Mundelein College Mundelein College was the last private, independent, Roman Catholic women's college in Illinois. Located on the edge of the Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods on the far north side of Chicago, Illinois, Mundelein College was founded and adm ...

in Chicago in 1961. During the mid-1960s, she was active in the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

. She was hired by Loyola in 1991 when Mundelein was merged into Loyola. She has worked as the team chaplain for the Ramblers men's basketball team since 1994. In 2016, she was presented with an honorary doctorate from Loyola. Providing a mix of spiritual and scouting support, Schmidt inspired her own

bobblehead A bobblehead, also known by common silly nicknames such as nodder, wobbler, or wacky wobbler, is a type of small collectible action figure. Its head is often oversized compared to its body. Instead of a solid connection, its head is connected t ...

doll in 2011 and was honored with a "Sister Jean Day" on December 1, 2012. Sister Jean gained overnight publicity beyond the Loyola community after the

Ramblers The Ramblers is the trading name of the Ramblers Association, Great Britain's leading walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path ...

' upset of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

in the 2018 NCAA tournament. Her fame continued to grow after the team upset

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

in the round of 32, sending Loyola to their first Sweet 16 appearance in 33 years. The then-98-year-old nun quickly became a star in the tournament; her bobblehead sold for more than $300 on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

. Loyola ultimately advanced to the Final Four for the first time since

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

, but they were defeated by

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

in the semifinal game. Sister Jean again drew national attention when Loyola appeared in the 2021 tournament. After reaching the round of 32 as an 8-seed, she incorporated a scouting report into her opening prayer for the game against the top-seeded

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

, a team she was reluctant to play against because she did not want to root against another team from the same home state. The Ramblers went on to upset the Illini, 71–58. She had initially been barred from appearing at the tournament but was later cleared after she received a COVID-19 vaccine. Sister Jean turned 100 on August 21, 2019. She maintains an office in the student center on campus. As of 2020, she was living at The Clare, a

senior living Senior living is a concept that encompasses a range of housing and lifestyle options for ageing persons adapted to the challenges of health issues associated with ageing, such as limited mobility and susceptibility to illness. Common forms Based o ...

residence A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence may more specifically refer to: * Domicile (law), a legal term for residence * Habitual residence, a civil law term dealing with the status ...

in downtown Chicago that describes itself as "reinventing the luxury retirement community." She made an appearance at the 2022 tournament after Loyola qualified for the tournament, with ''USA Today'' noting she was still in good health. On August 21, 2022, the plaza outside the

Loyola CTA station Loyola may refer to: People * St. Ignatius of Loyola * Loyola (surname) * Etsowish-simmegee-itshin, indigenous man whose baptismal name was Loyola Places * Loyola (CTA), a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, in Chicago, Illino ...

was dedicated to Sister Jean in commemoration of her 103rd birthday.

References

External links

Campus Ministry: Loyola University Chicago bio

Sister Jean: Loyola University Chicago: Features
from Loyola University Chicago's official website {{Authority control 1919 births Living people 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns 21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns American centenarians Catholics from California Mount St. Mary's University (Los Angeles) alumni Loyola Marymount University alumni Loyola Ramblers men's basketball Loyola University Chicago faculty People from San Francisco Women centenarians American women academics