World's oldest person dies aged 118 after living through two world wars and surviving Covid
18 January 2023, 09:56 | Updated: 18 January 2023, 10:01
A French nun believed to be the world's oldest person has died aged 118.
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Lucile Randon, known as Sister André, was born in 1904 and lived through both world wars and the Spanish flu epidemic, as well as shrugging off a Covid-19 case with barely any symptoms.
She worked in a hospital for many years caring for the elderly and orphans, before moving into a nursing home in 1979.
Sister André became the oldest woman in the world last year after the death of Japanese woman Kane Tanaka, who was then 119.
Asked about her exceptional longevity, Sister André told French media that "working ... makes you live. I worked until I was 108." She was known also to enjoy chocolate and a glass of wine daily.
Sister André contracted Covid-19 in 2021, and ten of her neighbours at the nursing home died. But she survived largely symptom-free.
She said at the time: "I wasn’t scared because I wasn’t scared to die."
Sister André lived an eventful life. Born to Protestant parents in Alès, a mid-sized town in southern France, in the early years of the 20th century, she was separated from her two brothers when they went to fight in the First World War.
Both brothers lived through the war. Sister André converted to Catholicism aged 19, before becoming a nun eight years later.
She chose the name André in honour of one of her brothers, who had died by this point.
Sister André worked as a teacher and governess, and spent much of the Second World War helping children.
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After becoming the world's oldest woman on the death of Ms Tanaka, Sister André said she felt a "sad honour".
She added: "I feel I would be better off in heaven, but the good Lord doesn't want me yet."
Sister André spent her last days in her Toulon nursing home largely in prayer. Spokesman David Tavella said: "There is great sadness but … it was her desire to join her beloved brother."
The oldest living known person in the world listed by the Gerontology Research Group is now American-born Maria Branyas Morera, who is living in Spain, and is 115.
The oldest person ever was 122-year-old Jeanne Calment, also from France, who lived from 1875 to 1997.
