By Spy Uganda Correspondent
The world’s oldest person, French nun Sister Andre, has died at the aged of 118.
Her retirement home confirmed the news on Tuesday.
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.”
When she turned 118 in 2022, the nun received a handwritten birthday note from French President Emmanuel Macron – the 18th French president of her lifetime. There have also been 10 different Popes presiding over the Catholic Church since she was born.
She became the world’s eldest following the death of Kane Tanaka, a Japanese woman previously certified as the world’s oldest person, who died at the age of 119 on April 19.
The title of the oldest person ever recorded also belongs to a French woman. Born on February 21, 1875, Jeanne Louise Calment’s life spanned 122 years and 164 days, according to the Guinness World Records statement.
