World's oldest person, a Brazilian nun, dies at age 116
The world's oldest person, Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, died on April 30 at the age of 116, having barely survived infancy and attributing her long life to God, her order and two longevity trackers said.
The title now passes to Ms Ethel Caterham, a resident of Surrey, England, who is 115 years old, according to the US Gerontological Research Group (GRG) and the LongeviQuest database.
Born on June 8, 1908, Ms 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 announced Ms Canabarro's passing on April 30 in a statement in which it gave thanks "for the dedication and devotion" she had shown in life.
LongeviQuest, in an obituary, said Ms 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.
Ms 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 on April 21 at age 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 Ms 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.
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