A French nun, dies at 118, World’s oldest known person

PARIS, France — A French nun who was thought to be the world’s oldest person but had reportedly grown weary of the burdens of age died a few weeks before her 119th birthday, according to her nursing home in southern France.

Lucile Randon, also known as Sister André, was born on February 11, 1904, in Ales, southern France, and lived through both World Wars. She was amazed when she first saw electric lights at school when she was a child, and she recently beat COVID-19 without even knowing she was infected.

Spokesman David Tavella said she died at the Sainte-Catherine-Laboure nursing home in the southern port city of Toulon at 2 a.m. on Tuesday.

Listed As The Worlds Oldest Person

She was listed as the oldest known person in the world by the Gerontology Research Group, which confirms details of people thought to be 110 or older.

According to the Gerontology Research Group, the oldest known living person in the world is now American-born Maria Branyas Morera, who is 115 and lives in Spain.

Sister André tested positive for the coronavirus shortly before her 117th birthday in January 2021, but she had so few symptoms that she didn’t realize she was infected. Her survival made headlines in France and around the world.

In April, she told French media that “working… makes you live” after surviving two world wars. I worked until I was 108 years old.”

But in 2020, after Sister Andre had healed from COVID-19, she told the local newspaper Midi Libre, “God has forgotten me.”

During a visit in May, the paper said that she had lost her eyesight, had trouble hearing, and had joint pain that made her face look funny.

Wine And Chocolate Every Day

Sister André used to drink a glass of wine and eat chocolate every day. In 2021, she celebrated her 117th birthday with Champagne, red wine, and port.

“It made me very, very, very happy,” she told The Associated Press over the phone. “Because I met all those I love, and I thank the heavens for giving them to me. I thank God for the effort they made.”

She first encountered electricity as a child by turning on a light in a classroom, it was a new word for her to learn and, she said, “a joy.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, praised “this altruistic personality whom the French considered as a reference, a source of pride and attachment” in a statement. According to the statement, Sister Andre lived through 18 different French presidents.

Jeanne Calment, a French woman who also lived in southern France, died in 1997 at the age of 122 and is said to be the world’s oldest person.

SOURCE – (AP)