World’s oldest person, Brazilian nun Inah Lucas, dies at 116

The world’s oldest person, a Brazilian nun named Inah Lucas, has died at the age of 116, barely months after assuming the global title.

Her death was confirmed on Wednesday by her religious order and longevity researchers.

Lucas passed away in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where the Congregation of Teresian Sisters expressed gratitude “for the dedication and devotion” she had shown throughout her life of service.

Born on June 8, 1908, Lucas had become the world’s oldest living person in January following the death of 116-year-old Japanese woman, Tomiko Itooka.

She became a nun in 1934, at the age of 26, during the years between the two World Wars.

Her remarkable life drew attention from longevity experts and religious communities alike.

In a tribute, LongeviQuest described her as a frail child at birth, “Many doubted she would survive.”

Despite those early odds, Canabarro lived for over a century, often attributing her long life to her faith.

“He is the secret of life. He is the secret of everything,” she once said, referring to God.

In 2018, on her 110th birthday, she received a papal blessing from Pope Francis, who himself passed away last Monday at age 88.

While Canabarro had personally claimed her birthdate as May 27, 1908, researchers say otherwise.

“Her documented birth date according to records is June 8, 1908,” Gerontological Research Group director Robert Young stated in January.

LongeviQuest noted that she ranks as the 15th-oldest documented person in human history and the second-oldest nun ever recorded, after Lucile Randon of France, who lived to 118 and died in 2023.

With her passing, the title of world’s oldest living person now goes to Ethel Caterham, a 115-year-old resident of Surrey, England, according to the US-based GRG and the LongeviQuest database.