World's Oldest Person, Nun Inah Canabarro Lucas of Brazil, Dies at 116: ‘A Legacy That Transcends Time'
Lucas was recognized by Guinness World Records after the death of 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka, the former title holder
Lucas previously attributed her longevity to God, saying, 'He is the secret of life. He is the secret of everything'
Inah Canabarro Lucas, the Brazilian nun who was officially recognized as the world's oldest person in January, has died. She was 116.
Colégio Santa Teresa in Brazil, where NPR reported Lucas lived her final days, announced that she died on Wednesday, April 30 — leaving behind "a legacy that transcends time."
In an Instagram statement translated from Portuguese, Lucas' order called her "a symbol of wisdom, faith, and unconditional love for others."
"Her legacy will live on in the history of the Santa Teresa Schools, where she passed through, profoundly touching the lives of countless generations with her serene presence, welcoming gaze, and tireless dedication to education. 📚 🤍," the statement read. "The Teresian family bids farewell with a grateful heart, honored to have had Sr. Inah as an example of dedication and mission."
"May her memory continue to inspire us on the path of fraternity and love that she knew how to follow so well 💙," the statement concluded.
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Guinness World Records first declared that Lucas was the world's oldest living person on Jan. 4, days after the death of former oldest living person Tomiko Itooka, who was 116 years old when she died on Dec. 29 in Japan. Itooka held the title of both oldest living person and oldest living woman since August 2024.
Lucas previously told LongeviQuest that she attributed her longevity to God. 'He is the secret of life. He is the secret of everything," she said.
The oldest person ever, according to Guinness, was Jeanne Louise Calment of France, who died in August 1997 at 122 years and 164 days old, which Guinness called the "greatest fully authenticated age to which any human has ever lived."
As for Lucas, the nun was born on June 8, 1908, in São Francisco de Assis in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, per Guinness World Records — at a time when Theodore Roosevelt was the U.S. president and movies were still silent, CNN noted.
As previously reported, she began her studies at the Santa Teresa de Jesus boarding school in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil in 1928. Lucas eventually moved to Uruguay and was confirmed in the Catholic Church in October 1929, per LongeviQuest, before returning to Brazil to teach Portuguese and mathematics in 1930. Lucas eventually took her vows to become a nun in July 1934 at 26 years old, before she began working as a teacher in the early 1940s.
In the decades to follow, she worked in Itaqui, later as a professor and secretary in Santana de Livramento and eventually returned to Itaqui to work as a teacher. Finally, Lucas worked at the Provincial House in Porto Alegre in February 1980, per LongeviQuest.
Retiring in 1995, she honored with an apostolic blessing from Pope Francis for her 110th birthday in 2018, according to Guinness.
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Lucas' relatives told Brazilian TV, per the BBC, that she "liked to get up, eat, and pray and sleep at the same time each day," as a fellow nun, Sister Terezinha Aragon, called her "very grateful" and "good-humored."
She previously described herself as a lifelong soccer fan and supporter of Sport Club Internacional. The club paid tribute to her on X following her death. "We bid farewell to Sister, celebrating her legacy of spirituality and compassion and wishing strength to her friends and family," the club wrote in a translated post.
Ethel Caterham of Britain is now the world's oldest living person, according to Guinness. She is 115 years and 252 days old.
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