When new students step off the Red Line to make their way to Loyola University Chicago’s Rogers Park campus, they’ll be greeted with a reminder of the school’s most recognizable figure.

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated her 103rd birthday on Sunday with a clout-heavy bash and a dedication at the Loyola Red Line plaza, which was renamed in her honor. The area is now marked by a large sign as the “Home of the world famous Sister Jean.”

She greeted fans, accepted gifts and hobnobbed with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Gov. JB Pritzker and Ald. Maria Hadden (49th).

“She really kind of ascended kind of the craziness and the fun of March Madness and just was this icon for goodness,” Lightfoot said. “Sister Jean, I think, really awakened the spirit in the city.”

Sister Jean first rose to fame during the Loyola men’s basketball team’s historic 2018 NCAA tournament run, when it smashed the odds and busted brackets en route to the Final Four. While she has long been a celebrity on campus, Sister Jean has more recently cemented herself as a widely known symbol of both the school and the city.

“She really kind of ascended kind of the craziness and the fun of March Madness and just was this icon for goodness,” Lightfoot said. “Sister Jean, I think, really awakened the spirit in the city.”

Sister Jean first rose to fame during the Loyola men’s basketball team’s historic 2018 NCAA tournament run, when it smashed the odds and busted brackets en route to the Final Four. While she has long been a celebrity on campus, Sister Jean has more recently cemented herself as a widely known symbol of both the school and the city.

So what’s in store for this season?

New challenges will undoubtedly come with the Ramblers joining the Atlantic 10 Conference after years in the Missouri Valley Conference. But Sister Jean said she’s optimistic.

“We’re just going to work hard,” she told the Sun-Times. “We’re going to put our best foot forward and do everything we possibly can.”