CHICAGO (WLS) — Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the beloved chaplain for the Loyola Chicago basketball team, has died at 106, the university said late Thursday.

“Loyola University Chicago is greatly saddened to confirm the death of Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM,” a statement posted to social media read. “This is a tremendous loss of someone who touched the lives of so many people. We appreciate everyone’s thoughts & prayers during this difficult time. Details to follow.”

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Sister Jean has been a cherished chaplain at Loyola University for decades, but she shot to international stardom as the Ramblers chief cheerleader when the men’s basketball team went on a Cinderella run in 2018.

“I can’t believe any of this,” Sister Jean said. “I just thought I’d be an elementary school teacher all my life.”

That run came 99 years after her birth. Jean Dolores Schmidt was born in 1919 in San Francisco. She says she knew in the third grade that she wanted to be a nun. At 18, she entered the convent and spent the next two decades teaching and coaching sports in Chicago, Los Angeles and North Hollywood. Then in 1961, she took a job teaching at an all-women’s Catholic college near Loyola University.

In 1994, she became Loyola’s basketball chaplain. That title would later make her a household name, but to Loyola students, she always held star power.

In addition to teaching, she worked to expand higher education opportunities to immigrant students, and she helped start a program that pairs students with seniors in a retirement community, bBoth of which are accomplishments that helped her earn the 2018 senior hall of fame award.

It seems everyone has wanted to be close to the good grace of Sister Jean. There have been clothes, LEGO statues and bobbleheads all dedicated to her.

She joined members of the Ramblers team to throw out the first pitch at a Cubs game, and even made a live appearance on Good Morning America.

Loyola showed her just how much she’s loved, throwing a massive bash for her 100th birthday.

Through it all she remained a humble servant of God, dedicated to helping people, passing down lessons from her past.

“You can’t be somebody different, you have to be yourself, the person God wanted you to be. And so just use the talents that God’s given you and just live your life,” Sister Jean said. “You have to be happy. You have to convey happiness, and you have to show people that you yourself are happy to make other people happy.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.