At 106 years old, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt is excited about a new season of basketball at Loyola University in Chicago.
"Go Ramblers!" she wrote in a message to students on her birthday on Thursday, Aug. 21.
As chaplain for the men’s team for 30 years, she's famous as the “basketball nun" and a beloved figure on campus.
Known simply as Sister Jean, she's still giving advice, too: "Let your dreams become reality. Don’t let anybody stop you," she urged young people in her letter. "Yes, you have to be yourself."
Her birthday is usually celebrated with parties organized by the university, students and the assisted living community where she resides.
But in 2025, Sister Jean has had "a bad summer cold" and other health issues that prevented her from coming to campus. "That makes me very sad, but you can still celebrate," she wrote. "I celebrate with you in spirit."
The nun stole the show and people’s hearts when the Loyola Ramblers made it to the Final Four at the 2018 NCAA basketball tournament.
She led the team in a pre-game prayer before matches and served as a good luck charm. Enthusiastic, uplifting and knowledgeable about basketball, “she’s like another coach,” one of the players told the Chicago Tribune. “She knows her stuff.”
Born in 1919, the centenarian still worked at least five days a week at 105 years old, commuting from her apartment to campus via shuttle bus, and offering advice, support and hugs to students in her office. She uses an iPad, a computer and is active on email, but it’s the personal connection with young people that matters most.
“I love every bit of it. … It just makes me very joyful,” Sister Jean told TODAY.com in 2024. “I don’t consider it really working. I just have so much fun. These students are a joy to work with. I learn so much from them, and I know they learn from me.”
The nun is a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She’s spent her life working as a teacher, administrator and principal. She’s also coached basketball and other sports.
“I eat well, I sleep well and hopefully I pray well,” Sister Jean said.
Here are some of the secrets of her longevity:
Be Around Young People
“I love being around young people. They keep me alive, healthy, and vibrant,” she writes in her memoir, “Wake Up With Purpose!: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years.”
“My interactions with those students are why I’ve never regretted not having children of my own.”
Never Retire
Sister Jean actually did try retirement in 1994 at age 75, but found she didn’t want to give up working — a sentiment common among people who live extraordinarily long lives.
That same year, she was asked to be the chaplain for the men’s basketball team, which became “the most transformational and transcendent position of my life,” she writes in her book.
Given the team’s schedule, she sometimes worked until 9:30 at night and on the weekends. She liked to attend every home game.
“There’s more work for me to do. I don’t like to sit around. I just like talking to people or doing something good for others,” she said. Being very busy is "fun,” she added.
It’s important to have a purpose in life, but since people spend so much time at work, they should make a change if they don’t like their job or career, she advises.
Keep Moving Forward
Sister Jean is comfortable with modern technology, stays on top of the news and calls adaptability her "superpower."
"If you’re not moving forward, you’re going to get left behind real quick," she writes in her book.
The nun calls herself the queen of the selfie since so many people want a photo with her. It makes them happy, so she's happy to do it, she says.
Inherit Great Genes
The centenarian believes a lot of her longevity comes from her father’s side of the family. He lived to be 95, and several of his siblings made it to a similar age.
“When my 95 came along, I thought, ‘I’ve got to really get ready to go to God.’ But I’m still here,” she says.
Wake Up and Go to Sleep Joyfully
If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anybody else, Sister Jean says. It’s important to set aside quiet time for prayer and reflection to take care of the mind, she adds in her book.
The nun wakes up at 5 a.m. and pauses for a 30-minute meditation.
Then at night, she takes time to think about all the good things she did that day.
“I still go to bed every night with a smile on my face, gratitude in my heart, and love in my soul,” she writes in her book.
Eat in Moderation
Sister Jean says she eats pretty much everything, but not too much of anything.
Lunch is her heavier meal, and then she eats more lightly at dinner time, opting for soup and a salad or a sandwich.
She used to be very careful about her diet when she was younger, but has taken a more relaxed approach in recent years.
“Perhaps I don’t watch my diet so much at breakfast. Sometimes I have eggs and bacon and toast,” the centenarian notes.
“But I think to myself, I’m 105, what difference does it make?”
For her birthday, Sister Jean likes eating chicken fricassee, homemade noodles, peas and pound cake — the meal she always asked her mom to make for her special day.
Stay Positive and Joyful
Sister Jean says she’s never been depressed and believes it takes too much energy to be stressed out.
She credits her good mental health to her parents, who created a happy home for her, and her two brothers even when times were tough during the Great Depression — a warmth that has always stayed with her. They also fostered her love of sports, which she calls the best teacher of teamwork.
“I learned a lot of that from my mom and dad. They were so positive all the time,” she says.
“They told us that we could really do things if we really tried, and I certainly believe that.”
Her parents and brothers have died, but she talks to them all the time. “I know they hear me in heaven,” she writes.
