A French nun who was believed to be the oldest living person in the world died on Tuesday at the age of 118.
Sister André, who was born Lucile Randon, died in a retirement home in the French city of Toulon only a few weeks before what would have been her 119th birthday.
The mayor of Toulon, Hubert Falco, confirmed the news of Sister André’s death on Twitter.
“It is with immense sadness and emotion that I learned tonight of the passing of the world’s oldest person #SisterAndré,” Falco wrote in French.
He shared a black and white photo of him and Sister André holding hands.
In a Twitter thread, Falco wrote that Sister André, whom he said he visited regularly, “had evolved with the times” and was “incredibly modern and told me frankly what she thought of this new century.”
David Tavella, Sister André’s spokesperson, also confirmed the news of the nun’s death in a statement.
“There is great sadness, but she wanted it to happen, it was her desire to join her beloved brother,” he wrote. “For her, it is freedom.”
Sister André was born on Feb. 11, 1904, in the town of Ales in southern France.
She was declared the oldest living person by Guinness World Records after the death of 119-year-old Japanese-born Kane Tanaka in April.
According to Guinness, Sister André dedicated most of her life to religious service.
She was a teacher and a governess who cared for children during the Second World War. When the war ended, Sister André became a Catholic nun and spent 28 years working with orphans and the elderly in a hospital in Vichy, France.
Guinness claimed Sister André was also the oldest nun to ever live and the oldest-ever COVID-19 survivor.
In January 2021, Sister André contracted the coronavirus but defied the odds when she recovered three weeks later.
By the time of her death, Sister André used a wheelchair and was blind and partially deaf. She reportedly enjoyed indulgences like chocolate and a glass of wine every day.
Now assuming the spot for the oldest living person is American-born Spanish supercentenarian Maria Branyas Morera, who is 115 years old and was born on March 4, 1907, according to The Gerontology Research Group, an organization that tracks the details of people believed to be 110 or older.
The oldest known person to ever live was Jeanne Louise Calment, also from France, who lived to be 122, according to Guinness. She died in Arles, southern France on Aug. 4, 1997.
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