World's oldest person, Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, dies at 116
A Brazilian nun named the world's oldest person in early 2025 has died, according to LongeviQuest, an agency that tracks the world's longest-living people.
Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas died on April 30. She was 116 years old and died just over a month shy of her 117th birthday on June 8. She died in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, reported LongeviQuest.
She was first named the world's oldest person in December 2024 after the death of 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka of Japan.
According to LongeviQuest, she has racked up quite a few titles throughout her life, and her previous titles include:
Jan. 2, 2022 – Oldest Brazilian ecclesiastical person ever.
Jan. 23, 2022 – Oldest documented living person in Brazil.
July 30, 2022 – Oldest validated living person in South and Latin America.
Feb. 16, 2024 – Brazil's oldest living person.
Feb. 22, 2024 – Oldest living person in the Americas and the world's third oldest living person.
Aug. 19, 2024 – World's second-oldest living person.
Dec. 29, 2024 – World's oldest living person.
And when she died on April 30, she was the 15th oldest documented person in history, the third oldest ever in Latin America, and the second oldest from Brazil, LongeviQuest reported.
Lucas is also the second-oldest nun in history, after France's Lucile Randon, known as Sister André. Randon was the world's oldest person until she died at 118, reported Guinness World Records.
Nun lived a full life: Blessed by the Pope in 2018 and was a big soccer fan
Born in June 1908 in São Francisco de Assis, Rio Grande do Sul, Lucas was born frail, and many people thought she would not live long, according to LongeviQuest.
She began her life of faith at just 16 years old, attending Santa Teresa de Jesus boarding school in Santana do Livramento, and was baptized there on April 21, 1926. She later moved to Montevideo, Uruguay, where at 21 years old, she was confirmed in the Catholic Church in October 1929.
The next year, she went back to Brazil to teach Portuguese and mathematics in Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, reported LongeviQuest. Lucas renewed her vows in 1932 and then again in 1933. On July 27, 1934, at 26 years old, she took her perpetual vows and officially became a nun.
Lucas returned to Santana do Livramento and continued working as a teacher in July 1942. She also worked as a professor and secretary in Santana do Livramento, and in February 1980, she joined the Provincial House in Porto Alegre, where she continued her religious path.
Pope Francis blessed Lucas in 2018. The blessing came after she celebrated her 110th birthday, making her a supercentenarian, LongeviQuest shared.
Outside of her religion, Lucas was also a soccer fan, according to LongeviQuest. The organization called her 'a devoted supporter of Sport Club Internacional."
New title-holders named after nun's passing
With Lucas' passing, the title of the world's oldest person belongs to Ethel Caterham of Surrey, England, who is 115 years and 252 days old.
Izabel Rosa Pereira, 114, is also Brazil's oldest resident after Lucas' passing.
Lucas was once asked how she managed to live so long, to which she replied owing her life to God.
'He is the secret of life,' she said. 'He is the secret of everything.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Who are the victims of the Air India plane crash?
Almost all those on board an Air India flight bound for London Gatwick Airport that crashed shortly after take-off in western India have died, the airline has confirmed. There were 242 passengers and crew on board the plane, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian. Officials earlier said some local people would also have died, given the populated area of Ahmedabad where the plane came down. One passenger, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, survived the crash and was treated in hospital for injuries. Details are still emerging, but these are the people so far confirmed by the BBC to have died. The Nanabawa family Three of the British nationals thought to have died in the incident were a family who lived in Gloucester. Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa Vorajee and their daughter Sara Nanabawa were all on board the flight. A statement from Gloucester Muslim Society said it passed on its "most sincere and deepest condolences". "No words can truly ease the pain of such a profound loss, but we pray that the family may find solace in the tremendous outpouring of compassion and solidarity from communities across the world. "May their cherished memories provide comfort, and may they rest in eternal peace." Adam and Hasina Taju, and their son-in-law Altafhusen Patel Adam Taju, 72, and his wife Hasina, 70, were flying back from Ahmedabad with their 51-year-old son-in-law, Altafhusen Patel. All three lived in London. The couple's granddaughter, Ammaarah Taju, spoke of her shock and disbelief at her parents home in Blackburn. She said her father, Altaf Taju, had driven to London to be with his sister as they received updates about the crash from Air India and government officials. Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, a married British couple, ran a spiritual wellness centre in London. They posted on Instagram earlier on Thursday saying they were about to board the flight from Ahmedabad airport. In the video, they were seen laughing and joking with each other about their trip to India. What could have caused Air India plane to crash in 30 seconds? Verified video shows Air India plane descending moments before impact What we know so far about flight AI171 Ajay Kumar Ramesh Ajay Kumar Ramesh was on the flight, sat alongside his brother, the British surviving passenger Vishwashkumar Ramesh. His cousin, Ajay Valgi, told the BBC that Vishwashkumar Ramesh had called his family to say he was "fine", but he did not know the whereabouts of his brother. Vijay Rupani Vijay Rupani, former chief minister of India's Gujarat state, was killed in the crash, the country's civil aviation minister told reporters. Rupani served as the chief minister of the western Indian state from 2016-21. He was a member of the governing BJP party. Singson Singson was a member of the cabin crew on board Air India flight 171, family said. Outside the Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, her cousin, T. Thanglingo Haokip, told the BBC he was trying to get information about her but was unsuccessful. He added that Singson had a mother and brother who were "wholly dependent on her" as she "was the only breadwinner" in her family. What could have caused Air India plane to crash in 30 seconds? Air India plane crash - how the day unfolded
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Fiery Air India crash kills 241 people aboard, leaving 1 survivor, airline says
AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — An Air India plane bound for London crashed in a residential area of Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff Thursday, killing 241 people on board, the airline said. One passenger who was thrown from the plane survived. An unknown number of people on the ground were killed in the crash, including medical students in a college hostel when the plane hit the building and exploded, said Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer in the northwestern city. 'Most of the bodies have been charred beyond recognition,' she said. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that he met the sole survivor at the hospital. A doctor said he had examined the survivor, whom he identified as Vishwashkumar Ramesh. 'He was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body,' Dr. Dhaval Gameti told The Associated Press. 'But he seems to be out of danger.' Another medic said Ramesh told him that immediately after the plane took off, it began descending and suddenly split in two, throwing him out before a loud explosion. Black smoke billowed from the site where the plane crashed and burst into flames near the airport in Ahmedabad, a city of more than 5 million and the capital of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. Firefighters doused the smoking wreckage of the plane, which would have been fully loaded with fuel shortly after takeoff, and adjacent multistory buildings with water. Charred bodies lay on the ground and parts of the fuselage were scattered around the site. Indian army teams were assisting civil authorities to clear debris and help treat the injured. A video on social media showed the jet slowly descending as if it were landing. As soon as it disappeared from view behind rows of houses, a giant fireball filled the sky. The AP was able to verify the video by matching up the flight path of the plane from the runway with the crash site and the nearby residential area. At the crash site, the tail cone of the aircraft with damaged stabilizer fins still attached was lodged near the top of one of the buildings. Others may be buried in debris In a social media post, Modi called the crash 'heartbreaking beyond words" and said 'my thoughts are with everyone affected.' Sambit Patra, a lawmaker from Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, said Gujarat's former chief minister, Vijay Rupani, was among the dead. Divyansh Singh, vice president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, said at least five students from the medical college were killed on the ground and 50 others were injured. Singh said some of them were in critical condition and many people are 'feared buried in the debris.' Air India confirmed in a statement posted on X that 229 passengers and 12 crew members were killed in the crash. The only survivor was a British national of Indian origin. The flight bound for London Gatwick Airport had 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian aboard. 'Our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of all those affected, their families and loved ones,' the airline said. The first crash of a Boeing 787 This is the first crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. Boeing said it was 'working to gather more information.' India's aviation regulatory body said the aircraft gave a mayday call, signaling an emergency, but then did not respond to the calls made by the airport traffic control. Aviation consultant John M. Cox, the CEO of Safety Operating Systems, told the AP from Los Angeles that while the first images of the crash were poor, it appeared the aircraft had its nose up and was not climbing, which is one of the things that investigators would look at. 'The 787 has very extensive flight data monitoring — the parameters on the flight data recorder are in the thousands — so once we get that recorder, they'll be able to know pretty quickly what happened,' he said. The wide-body, twin-engine aircraft was introduced in 2009, and more than 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of airlines, according to the flightradar24 website. UK promises support British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government was in constant contact with Indian authorities and encouraged loved ones of passengers on the Air India flight to contact the foreign office. 'Our hearts and our thoughts are absolutely with the friends and families of all those affected who are going to be absolutely devastated by this awful news,' Starmer said. British Cabinet minister Lucy Powell said the government will provide 'all the support that it can' to those affected by the crash. Britain has very close ties with India. There were nearly 1.9 million people in the country of Indian descent, according to the 2021 U.K. census. Condolences also poured in from King Charles III, who said he and his wife, Queen Camilla, were 'desperately shocked' by the crash. 'Our special prayers and deepest possible sympathy are with the families and friends of all those affected by this appallingly tragic incident across so many nations,' he said in a statement. Previous air disasters in India The last major passenger plane crash in India was in 2020, when an Air India Express Boeing-737 skidded off a hilltop runway in southern India, killing 21 people. The worst air disaster in India was on Nov. 12, 1996, when a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight collided midair with a Kazakhstan Airlines Flight near Charki Dadri in Haryana state, killing all 349 on board the two planes. Boeing has been in recovery mode for more than six years after Lion Air Flight 610, a Boeing 737 Max 8, plunged into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 Max 8, crashed after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 157 passengers and crew members. Shares of Boeing Co. tumbled nearly 9% before trading opened in the U.S. ___ Roy reported from New Delhi. Associated Press writers Aijaz Hussain and Sheikh Saaliq in Srinagar, India; Pan Pylas, Kelvin Chan and Brian Melley in London; and Annika Wolters, David Rising, Adam Schreck and Lorian Belanger in Bangkok contributed to this report.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
CCTV footage shows moment of Air India crash in Ahmedabad airport
STORY: :: This video contains content some people might find distressing :: CCTV footage captures an Air India plane crash seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport :: June 12, 2025 :: Ahmedabad, India Reuters was able to confirm the location from the buildings, road signs and layout that matched satellite imagery of the area. Reuters was able to verify the date through the on-screen timestamp that matched corroborating reports. The Boeing 787 bound for London with 242 people on board crashed seconds after taking off from India's western city of Ahmedabad earlier on Thursday. The plane came down in a residential area, crashing onto a medical college hostel outside the airport during lunch hour. More than 200 people were killed, authorities said. The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants, a source told Reuters. Of them, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian, Air India said.
