World’s longest-lived person dies at 116 years of age

Inah Canabarro Lucas, the oldest person in the world, died this past Wednesday at the age of 116, according to an announcement from the Congregation of the Teresian Sisters in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre. Born on June 8, 1908, the nun became the world’s oldest living person this past January, following the death of Japanese supercentenarian Tomiko Itooka, who was also 116.

“On this day, may the resurrection embrace Sister Inah Canabarro, we give thanks for her dedication and service, and we ask the Lord, Father of goodness, to receive her in His infinite love," said the Congregation of the Teresian Sisters of Brazil in a statement.

Born in the city of São Francisco de Assis, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, her childhood was marked by fragile health, according to her biography published by LongeviQuest, an organization dedicated to gerontological research.

Her religious life began at the age of 16, when she joined a Teresian school in Santana do Livramento, before briefly living in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. By age 26, she was ordained as a nun and went on to have a long career in religious service as a teacher and secretary.

In 2018, at nearly 110 years old, she received the apostolic blessing from Pope Francis. She is the second-oldest nun in recorded history, after Lucile Randon of France, who lived to 118. When asked about the secret to her long life, Canabarro attributed it to God, saying: “He is the secret of life—He is the secret of everything.”

According to data from the U.S.-based Gerontology Research Group (GRG) and LongeviQuest, the new oldest living person in the world is now Ethel Caterham, a resident of Surrey, United Kingdom, who is 115 years and 254 days old.