Inah Canabarro Lucas, a Brazilian nun recognized as the world’s oldest living person, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 116. Known for surviving a fragile infancy, Lucas credited her extraordinary longevity to her faith in God and dedication to her religious order, according to longevity trackers LongeviQuest and the US-based Gerontological Research Group (GRG).
With her passing, the title of the world’s oldest person now goes to 115-year-old Ethel Caterham of Surrey, England, according to both databases.
Born on June 8, 1908, Lucas became the world’s oldest person after the January death of Japan’s Tomiko Itooka, who was also 116. The Congregation of Teresian Sisters of Brazil, based in Porto Alegre, announced her death in a statement, expressing gratitude for her lifelong devotion and service.
LongeviQuest noted in an obituary that Lucas was considered unlikely to survive childhood due to her frailty. She joined the Teresian order in 1934 at the age of 26, during the interwar period.
Throughout her life, Lucas consistently attributed her longevity to her faith, once saying: “He is the secret of life. He is the secret of everything.” For her 110th birthday, she received a special blessing from Pope Francis, who himself died last Monday at the age of 88.
Although Lucas claimed her birthday was May 27, 1908, official records list it as June 8, 1908, according to GRG director Robert Young.
LongeviQuest reported that Lucas was the 15th-oldest verified person in recorded history and the second-oldest nun, following France’s Lucile Randon, who lived to 118 and passed away in 2023.
