World’s oldest person, Sister André, dies at 118

Sister André

FRENCH nun Sister André, the world’s oldest person, has died in her retirement home in Toulon, France.

The city’s mayor, Hubert Falco, announced the news of her death on Twitter, writing that “it is with immense sadness and emotion that I learnt tonight of the passing of the world’s oldest person #SisterAndré.”

Sister André was born as Lucile Randon on February 11, 1904 and was raised in Alès, a town in the Occitanie region of southern France.

She grew up in a protestant family before she converted to Catholicism at the age of 19.

Before becoming a Catholic nun, she looked after children during World War II and then spent 28 years caring for orphans and elderly people at a hospital.

She was also the oldest nun to ever live. Pope Francis sent her a personal letter and a blessed rosary on her 115th birthday.

Sister André saw 10 Popes in her lifetime and lived through both world wars, humanity’s first steps into outer space and the invention of the Internet.

In 2021 she made headlines after she recovered from COVID-19 on World Day of the Sick, becoming the world’s oldest survivor of the virus.

Even last year Sister André was going to morning Mass every day despite being unable to see and said she had a secret to her longevity – “pray and drink a cup of chocolate every day”.

She was also reported as saying, “Daily happiness is being able to go and pray”.