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Sister André, a nun from France, is now officially the oldest person alive in the world! 👵
Born on 11 February 1904 as Lucile Randon, she was confirmed as the new record holder at the age of 118 years 73 days.
She became the oldest person living (female) and overall oldest person living after the sad passing of Kane Tanaka (Japan).
Lucile took the name Sister André when she became a nun in 1944, aged 40. This means she is also the oldest nun ever.
Her world records don’t stop there though – Sister André is also the oldest COVID-19 survivor. 💪
In January 2021, she caught the virus and was quickly isolated in her retirement home. Luckily, she didn’t become sick and three weeks later she was back to normal and ready to celebrate her 117th birthday. 🥳️
Due to her old age, Sister André uses a wheelchair and she’s partially deaf. However, her mind is still as sharp as ever.
"They get me up at 7 a.m., they give me my breakfast, then they put me at my desk where I stay busy with little things."
No matter how old you get, some things never change. Sister André still loves eating sweets, especially chocolate. Could this be the secret to her long life? 🍫
The world has changed in so many ways over the course of Sister André’s life. Here are some things that were invented after her birth:
Can you imagine living your life without these inventions?
Sister André spent many of her years taking care of other people. In her younger years she worked as a teacher, a governess and during World War II she looked after children. 😊
For 28 years after that, Sister André helped take care of orphans and elderly people at a hospital. And she did all this before becoming a nun!
She then dedicated the rest of her life to her religion. In recognition of her long life and service to Christianity, Pope Francis sent her a special letter in 2019. 🙏
Sister André is the second-oldest French person and the second-oldest European person ever.
Interestingly, the oldest person ever was also French. Her name was Jeanne Calment and she lived to be 122 years 164 days old. Jeanne is the only person in history known to have reached the age of 120.