- The world’s oldest person, French nun Lucile Randon, has died aged 118. Randon, also known as Sister Andre, was born in southern France on February 11, 1904, a decade before World War I.
- She was long regarded as the oldest European, but the death of Japan’s Kane Tanaka at the age of 119 last year made her the world’s oldest person.
- The record for the oldest confirmed age reached by a human belongs to Jeanne Calment, also of southern France, who died in 1997 at the age of 122.
- Guinness World Records officially recognized her status in April 2022.
- According to the Gerontology Research Group, the oldest living person is now Maria Branyas Morera of Spain at 115 years and 320 days, as of Wednesday.
- Sister André also holds the record for the oldest COVID-19 survivor, of which she tested positive a few weeks before her 117th birthday in 2021.
- She recovered from the virus in about three weeks. She also lived through the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918.
- As a young person, Sister André was a teacher and looked after children during World War II. She then spent 28 years working at a hospital with orphans and elderly people before becoming a nun.
- In 2019, Sister André became an honorary citizen of Toulon, France, and received a personal letter and blessed rosary from Pope Francis.
- Sister André was about three years away from setting yet another record as the oldest person ever. That record is held by Jeanne Louise also of France, who lived to be 122 years and 164 days old and died in 1997, according to Guinness World Records.
World’s oldest person, Lucile Randon passes away at the age of 118
