The oldest known person in the world, French nun Sister André, has died at the age of 118, her spokesperson confirmed to AFP on Tuesday.
Sister André, whose real name is Lucile Randon, died in her sleep in Toulon, France, according to David Tavella of the Sainte-Catherine Laboure nursing home.
“There is great sadness, but… it was his wish to join his beloved brother,” Tavella told AFP. “For her, it’s a release.”
Sister André, born February 11, 1904, was believed to be the world’s oldest living person, according to Guinness World Records, which recognized her status in April 2022 after the death of 119-year-old Kane Tanaka. Japan.
Daniel Cole/AP
The record-keeping organization also announced the news, saying it was “saddened” to learn of the nun’s passing.
“How incredible that we share the same air as someone who was born just a couple of months after the Wright brothers’ first powered flight, and a few months before the New York subway system opened,” said Craig Glenday, editor at chief. for Guinness World Records, in a statement.
Glenday added that Sister André was the “fourth oldest person authenticated” by Guinness.
Sister André held the records for “oldest living nun” and “oldest COVID-19 survivor,” according to Guinness, as well as the second-oldest French person and the second-oldest European person ever recorded. She was just three years shy of the record for longest-living person in history, held by Jeanne Louise Calment of France, who lived to be 122, Guinness said.
Hubert Franco, the mayor of Toulon, further confirmed the death of sister André in a statement in which he shared about his regular visits with her. Franco said Sister André was recognized as an honorary citizen of Toulon four years ago and had been in the Sainte-Catherine Laboure nursing home since 2009.
Before devoting much of her life to religious service, Sister André spent nearly three decades working with orphans and the elderly, Guinness said. She also lived through the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.
Sister André’s life spanned 18 French presidencies and 10 different Popes.
