(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Loyola University celebrated Sister Jean's 104th birthday in fitting fashion, with a giant block party.
The university's celebration Thursday at the Water Tower Campus follows a week of events celebrating her 104th journey around the sun.
Among the admirers who had a photo op with the legendary basketball team chaplain was Loyola freshman Emma Graves, who shares Sister Jean's birthday.
“The first time I ever met her I told her about it and she made a little joke about how we might have the same birthday but it’s definitely not the same year," Graves said.
Sister Jean has been working at Loyola since 1991. She told the committee in charge of celebrating her birthday they didn’t have to top last year’s celebration, when a CTA plaza was named for her.
There were masses and lunches last week on her actual birth date, Aug. 21. Some of her sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary were part of a guest list of more than 100 people.
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As part of the block party celebration, the Loyola University Museum of Art will have a special exhibit Thursday night to highlight Sister Jean's accomplishments and her celebrity status.
Sister Jean wrote a book, Wake Up With Purpose!: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years. She said she looks forward to another season of Ramblers men’s basketball and hopes the team will make it to the NCAA tournament again.
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