World
World’s oldest person, French nun Sister Andre, dies at 118
The world’s oldest person, French nun Sister Andre, has died at the aged of 118.
Her retirement home confirmed the news on Tuesday, the Reuters news agency reported.
Born Lucile Randon in 1904, a decade before the start of World War One, she took the name of Sister Andre when she joined a Catholic charitable order in 1944, a year before the end of World War Two.
She survived two global health crises – Spanish flu in 1918 and, in the last few years, COVID-19.
Speaking as she celebrated her 117th birthday in February 2021, following a health scare, Sister Andre said death did not worry her.
“No, I wasn’t scared because I wasn’t scared to die,” she commented.
That birthday was marked with a cake and a prayer. “It pleased me so, so, so much,” she said.
“I met all those that I loved and thank God for giving them to me. I thank God.”
She was the world’s oldest living person according to the Gerontology Research Group’s World Supercentenarian Rankings List.
Sister Andre said she was not afraid to die