World’s oldest person passes away at 116

After barely surviving infancy, Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, the oldest person in the world, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 116. She attributed her long life to God, according to two longevity trackers and her order.

As per the US Gerontological Research Group (GRG) and the LongeviQuest database, the title of oldest living person presently belongs to Ethel Caterham, a 115-year-old resident of Surrey, England.

Born on June 8, 1908, Canabarro became the world's oldest person following the death in January of Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka, who was also aged 116.

The Congregation of Teresian Sisters of Brazil in Porto Alegre announced Canabarro’s passing Wednesday in a statement in which it gave thanks "for the dedication and devotion" she had shown in life.

LongeviQuest, in an obituary, said Canabarro had been a frail child, and "many doubted she would survive".

She became a nun in 1934 at the age of 26, between World Wars I and II.

Canabarro had attributed her longevity to God, saying: "He is the secret of life. He is the secret of everything," according to LongeviQuest.

For her 110th birthday, she received a blessing from Pope Francis, who himself died last Monday aged 88.

Although she had claimed her date of birth was May 27, 1908, "her documented birth date according to records is June 8, 1908," GRG director Robert Young told AFP in January.

LongeviQuest said Canabarro had been the 15th-oldest documented person in history, and the second-oldest nun after France’s Lucile Randon, who lived to the age of 118 and died in 2023.