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Hundreds of members of the Loyola community gathered on Wednesday to celebrate a milestone: Sister Jean’s 105th birthday.
The morning began with a steady stream of returning and new students, along with their families, entering Sister Jean’s office in the Damen Student Center for the chance to say hello, wish her happy birthday, and take a photograph together.
After lunch, served outside in the warm late-August air, the crowd re-convened in Damen. “Happy Birthday to You” by Stevie Wonder got students dancing and clapping as they waited for Sister Jean to emerge from her office. The energy grew until her door opened to a roar of cheers and applause. Students formed a cheer tunnel that she traveled through, toward a gold and maroon, three-tiered birthday cake decorated with basketballs and her personal bobblehead doll.
“I think we all know why we’re here,” said President Mark C. Reed, addressing the crowd, which was met with a laugh. He led everyone in singing “Happy Birthday” and then Sister Jean took the mic. She thanked everyone who had gathered to help her celebrate and said that her mother and father were looking down at her from heaven. She also encouraged students to show up for the upcoming basketball season. “I hope to see everyone at a lot of games,” she said. And she wanted students to show up in her office, too.
“I wish everyone a great semester,” she said, “and be sure you stop into Damen 123 during the course of the year, whether you think you’re being successful, or you need a little push to be more successful.”
A few days after her birthday party, there was another momentous occasion: Sister Jean received a proclamation from President Joe Biden.
A presidential proclamation is a commemoration or special observance, issued directly from the president of the United States. During his term, President Biden has commemorated events such as National Immigrant Heritage Month and American Education Week.
His proclamation for Sister Jean was in recognition of her lifetime of service. “As you have walked your faith throughout the years, your servant leadership and steadfast prayers have shaped the lives of thousands of young people and their families and inspired countless others throughout the world,” the letter from Biden reads, in part. “And by living out the values of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary—in corridors, in classrooms, and on the courtside of your beloved Ramblers games—you have shown us all that yours is a life well lived.
The proclamation grew out of an exchange that began several weeks ago. Sister Jean watched President Biden’s July 24th speech where he explained that he would not run for a second term. She was moved by his address to the nation and decided to write him a letter in response.
“I wanted to let him know that I thought his talk when he announced he wasn’t going to be president, I thought his talk was very beautiful and that he had spent a lot of time discerning what he should do and that was a proper way to do it,” said Sister Jean.
“She was so proud of him putting country first,” explained Philip Hale, vice president for civic engagement and government affairs at Loyola, who helped get her letter to the president’s office. “It wasn’t too many days later that I got a call saying the White House wants to do something,” he said.
Hale hopes students take a moment to consider why Sister Jean is being recognized by the president of the United States.
“She’s being honored for a lifetime of being a person for others. I think it’s worth reflecting on that, that she’s not being honored for some act of valor,” he said. “She’s being honored for a lifetime of giving herself to other people, unfailingly.”
He also hopes that the Loyola community sees this type of service as approachable. “That’s what I want our students to take away, that they can be that same person,” he said. “You don’t have to be a nun to devote yourself to other people.”
