Celebrating Sister Jean: Loyola University Honors Beloved Basketball Chaplain with Campus Memorial

CHICAGO – Loyola University is set to honor the beloved Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt with a wake service and visitation on Wednesday.

Sister Jean, who captured hearts as the spirited chaplain for Loyola University’s men’s basketball team since 1994, passed away last Thursday at the age of 106.

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The commemorative events are taking place at Madonna della Strada Chapel on Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus. The chapel doors opened at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, with services commencing at 5 p.m., followed by a visitation period from 5:30 to 10 p.m.

This week marks a series of final tributes for Sister Jean, the university’s most cherished chaplain and enthusiastic supporter.

The wake drew a crowd to Madonna Della Strada, including Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, both of whom paid tribute to Sister Jean’s enduring positivity.

“She was always smiling and she was always happy and I think especially now as were living through times of upheaval and chaos and vitriols, she brought the best in so many people,” Giannoulias said.

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt was a nun like none other. Her presence from the chapel, to the classroom to the court was one of warmth and welcome.

“She felt she was, you know, made for this work and made to serve people, and she just did it so very well,” said Michael Murphy, a friend and director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University. “Because she was so true and so just her way of being, her good humor, her dedication to people, her faith.”

At Sister Jean’s visitation, a mix of emotions from mourners who reflected on her infectious smile and attitude.

“There was a somberness, but there was a joy because she was always smiling and she was always happy,” Giannoulias said.

Sister Jean was not only a source of pride for the school, but she was also a source of inspiration for her dedication to her faith. Entering the convent at the young age of 18, Sister Jean said she knew from a young age that she wanted to be a nun.

Sister Jean gained worldwide attention during the Rambler’s Final Four run in 2018, but even before that, she was a force of fun and faith on the North Side campus. She spent decades dedicating her career to education and sports, with a faith forward mentality and an open door to her students

“She was always eager to talk to students it was none of that go away, you bother me you’re too young or anything like that she had an open door policy and student would drop by and see her, everyone wanted a selfie, they do that with her,” said Joyce Knight, a friend and Associate Dean of Student Academic Affairs and Advising at Loyola University.

Her funeral Mass will be Thursday at the same chapel. The university said it is expected to draw a large turnout, a testament to the many lives she touched and how she dedicated her life to serving others. Now, those people are showing up for her as she did for them.

The chapel will open at 9 a.m., and the Mass will begin at 10 a.m.

Rooney Hall and Mundelein Center on Loyola’s Rogers Park campus will be overflow space.

There will be a community reception at 11:30 a.m. at the Damen Student Center.

The services will be open on a first-come, first-served basis, Loyola said. Seating is limited in the chapel. The wake and Mass will be livestreamed, Loyola said.

Livestream links of the visitation and funeral will be posted on Loyola’s website.

Burial will be private.