Death of the dean of humanity at 116: who is now the oldest person in the world?

The dean of the world, the Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, died Wednesday April 30 at the age of 116 and 326 days, announced the Congregation of the Theresian sisters in which she lived in the city of Porto Alegre.

Born on June 8, 1908 in the city of Saint-François d’Assise, in the south of the country, Inah Canabarro Lucas was recognized as dean of humanity after the death in January of Japanese Tomiko Itoka, also 116 years old, according to GRG and Longeviquet.

“On this day, that the resurrection embraces Sister Inah Canabarro, we give thanks for his commitment and his devotion, we ask the Lord, father of kindness, to receive it and to welcome him in his infinite love”, said the Congregation of the Theresian sisters of Brazil in a press release.

“He is the secret of life. He is the secret of everything”

At 16, she began her religious initiation in a school of the Theresian sisters in Santana Do Livramento, near the border with Uruguay, before living briefly in Montevideo. Religious order at the age of 26, returning to her country, she began a long career as a religious service, where she was also a teacher and secretary.

Asked about the reasons for his longevity, she attributed it to God. “He is the secret of life. He is the secret of everything”she said. In 2018, at almost 110 years old, she received the apostolic blessing of Pope Francis, according to Longeviquet. Inah Canabarro Lucas is the second oldest nun in history, after French Lucile Randon, who lived up to 118 years.

A British, new dean of humanity

The new dean is now an Englishwoman, Ethel Caterham, who lives in the County of Surrey (Southeast), and is now 115 years and 252 days, according to the gerontology research group in the United States (GRG) and Longeviquet.

According to Longeviquet, she was born in 1909 and had continued to conduct the Triumph Dolomite from her deceased husband until the age of 97. In 2020, at 110, she recovered from contamination to COVID-19, making the Briton one of the oldest survivors of the disease.

The penultimate of a family of eight children, his sister had already lived up to 104 years and Ethel Caterham also saw two of her daughters die before her. GEM, in the 2000s and Anne in 2020 to 82 years. “Know how to seize each opportunity, because you never know where it will lead. Have a positive attitude and consume in moderation”, explained the now dean of humanity on the keys to its longevity at Salisbury Journal.