French nun Sister André, the oldest living person, died at the age of 118 in a rest home in France.
Catholic Nun – Oldest Living Person Dies at 118
Sister André Lucile Randon was less than a month away from her 119th birthday and, at the time, held the record for both the oldest living person and oldest living nun, according to Guinness World Records.
She was born as Lucile Randon on February 11, 1904, which is the same year Theodore Roosevelt was elected president. Randon was a teacher and governess who looked after children and took care of the elderly at a French hospital during World War II before becoming a Catholic nun in 1944.
In 2021, there was a COVID-19 outbreak in her nursing home, which killed 10 people. It is reported that she showed no fear of the illness and was worried about other residents.
The devoted nun enjoyed chocolate and a daily glass of wine.
The nun’s spokesman, David Tavella, said she died on Tuesday at 2 a.m. local time and lived near Toulon.
“There is great sadness, but she wanted it to happen, it was her desire to join her beloved brother. For her, it is freedom,” Tavella said.The city’s mayor, Hubert Falco, announced the news of her death on Twitter, writing that “it is with immense sadness and emotion that I learnt tonight of the passing of the world’s oldest person #SisterAndré.”
In April last year, asked about her exceptional longevity through two world wars, she told French media that “working … makes you live. I worked until I was 108.”
Sister Andre’s History
Randon, known as Sister André, was born on Feb. 11, 1904, in southern France. She worked as a governess and teacher before joining a convent in 1944, and retiring in 1979.
When Randon was a teen, she lived through the Spanish Flu pandemic.
During her life, Randon spent nearly 30 years working with orphans and the elderly at a hospital in Vichy, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region.
There have been 10 Popes who have presided over the Catholic church since Sister André was born.
Other Record-Breaking “Oldest People”
The Gerontology Research Group, which validates details of people thought to be 110 or older, listed her as the oldest known living person in the world.
A French supercentenarian and the oldest human whose age is documented, Calment lived 122 years and 164 days. She was born Feb. 21, 1875, she died on Aug. 4, 1997.
The oldest living known person in the world listed by the Gerontology Research Group is now American-born Maria Branyas Morera, who is 115.
Born in California on March 4, 1907, Morera is a supercentenarian who now lives in Spain.
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