The world's oldest person, Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, died on Wednesday, April 30, at the age of 116. She had barely survived infancy and attributed her long life to God and to her order. The title of "world's oldest person" now passes to 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, Canabarro Lucas 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 Lucas' passing on 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 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 said.
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.