World's oldest person, Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, dies at 116

USA Today

02-05-2025

World's oldest person, Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, dies at 116
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World's oldest living person dies at 116
Inah Canabarro Lucas, the world's oldest living person, has died, nearly five months after being awarded the distinction.
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.'
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at [e-mail].