World’s oldest woman dies at 118

  • With the French sister André, the oldest person in the world has died.
  • the Gerontology Research Group listed Sister André since the end of April last year as the oldest living person, previously as the oldest European.
A praying old woman in a wheelchair

Legend:

Lucile Randon, also known as Sister André, lived to be 118 years old.

Keystone/Daniel Cole (archive)

Sister André died in the night from Monday to Tuesday in the nursing home, the French news agency AFP reported, citing the spokesman for the woman born as Lucile Randon. The nun was 118 years old, as the mayor of her southern French town of Toulon, Hubert Falco, wrote on Facebook.

What is the Gerontology Research Group?


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The Gerontology Research Group is an international association of researchers from various gerontological disciplines, which is best known for verifying and validating the age of so-called “supercentenarians” (people aged at least 110 years) and researching the causes of their longevity.

With her death, the 115-year-old Maria Branyas Morera, who lives in Spain, is now the oldest person in the world in the ranking of the Association of Researchers.

Sister André was born on February 11, 1904 in Alès. She lived through two world wars, the outbreak of the Spanish flu and she also survived several infections with the coronavirus. She wasn’t afraid during the pandemic because she wasn’t afraid of dying, she told BFMTV after her recovery

Being the oldest person in the world also had a bitter aftertaste for the nun. She told broadcaster BFMTV that it fills her with pride but is also a disaster. “It’s a sad honor. I feel like I’d be better off in heaven and that God doesn’t want me.”

chocolate every day

Despite her advanced age, the nun remained active for a long time. “They say work kills. For me, work lets me live. I worked until I was 108 years old,” the broadcaster BFMTV quoted Sister André as saying. A piece of chocolate a day made her life sweeter.

In her youth, the Frenchwoman worked as a private tutor and traveled to Paris from a small village in southern France. It was not until she was in her early 40s that she entered a religious order.

Most recently, Sister André was in a wheelchair; she hadn’t been able to see properly for several years. She is an honorary citizen of the city of Toulon, where she has lived in the home for a number of years. Mayor Falco praised her as “incredibly modern” and a “nun with a big heart”.

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