CHICAGO _ When Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt was a 20-year-old nun, she heard someone say that age 40 is when "you're put on the shelf."
She thought to herself: "That's kind of foolish to be talking about life that way. What will I do if I'm put on the shelf at 40?"
She passed that milestone 60 years ago. At 40, she was just getting started. Heck, at 98, she was living a dream life.
Sister Jean has enjoyed some of her most exciting years as the Loyola Chicago basketball team chaplain. She became the darling of the 2018 NCAA Tournament during the Ramblers' unlikely run to the Final Four.
Wednesday is her 100th birthday. And she doesn't plan to slow down.
"I never thought I'd be 100," Sister Jean, the team chaplain since 1994, said last month.
She planned to celebrate Wednesday with students and Loyola President Jo Ann Rooney, with cake and songs from a campus a cappella group, before holding a news conference. The university plans to honor her by raising funds for a $100,000 athletic endowment.
Sister Jean, meanwhile, has been a gift to Loyola, as fans, players, coaches and students often say.
She's a fixture at basketball games, sitting in her wheelchair in the Gentile Arena tunnel, intently watching while wearing a maroon-and-gold scarf and letterman's jacket. Her pregame prayers on the court are among the Ramblers' most treasured traditions.
She provides coaches with scouting reports and sends players postgame emails with encouragement and advice. She often includes her observations in her prayers with the players.
"Sometimes my prayers don't seem very holy, but they mean a lot to the players," she said, grinning. "I (roam) the concourse during halftime, and opponents' fans will say, 'You pray harder for Loyola.' I say, 'If you wore gold and maroon, you would too.' "
Despite breaking a hip in a fall off a sidewalk curb earlier in the year and missing nine home games, Sister Jean traveled with the Ramblers during their 2018 NCAA Tournament run. As Loyola made one game-winning shot after another, Sister Jean's popularity also increased at each stop as television cameras captured her pregame prayers and postgame celebrations with players.
Soon, Charles Barkley and Bill Walton were seeking out Sister Jean for selfies just like hundreds of other college basketball fans _ no matter which team they rooted for.
Her popularity hasn't waned. In July, a young boy who traveled to Chicago for a Cubs game asked to stop by her office in the student center for a photo and chat. Sister Jean obliged.
She said she has tried to use her fame to spread a positive message of faith _ no matter anyone's religious beliefs. She said she heard from alumni and fans who returned to their places of worship after absences, inspired by watching the Ramblers.
"The legacy I want is that I helped people and I was not afraid to give my time to people and teach them to be positive about what happens and that they can do good for other people," Sister Jean said.
"And being willing to take a risk. People might say, 'Why didn't I do that?' Well, just go ahead and try it _ as long as it doesn't hurt anybody."
