Sister André was a teacher, governess, and caretaker to children during World War II.
The world's oldest person, French nun Sister André, died on January 17, aged 118. She was born Lucile Randon on February 11, 1904, and died at her retirement home in France. "There is great sadness, but … it was her desire to join her beloved brother," David Tavella, spokesman for the Sainte-Catherine-Laboure nursing home in Toulon, told ABC News. "For her, it's a liberation", Tavella said. She added that Sister André died in her sleep, per PEOPLE.
Guinness World Records is saddened to learn of the passing of the world's oldest person, Sister André (b. Lucile Randon) at the age of 118.https://t.co/xbgvOrqK1u
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) January 18, 2023
As per CNN, Toulon's mayor, Hubert Falco, announced the news of her death on Twitter, writing that “it is with immense sadness and emotion that I learned tonight of the passing of the world’s oldest person #SisterAndré.” On her 118th birthday in 2022, the nun received a handwritten birthday note from French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron is the 18th president she had seen in her lifetime. There have also been 10 different Popes presiding over the Catholic Church since she was born.
French nun Sister André, the world’s oldest known person, died on Tuesday at the age of 118 in the southern city of Toulon https://t.co/COJKrmjiAH
— CNN International (@cnni) January 18, 2023
She assumed the title of the world's oldest person in April 2022, after the death of Japanese resident Kane Tanaka at age 119. Guinness World Records had named Sister André the oldest living nun, the second-oldest French person, and the second-oldest European person on record. During her life, Sister André had been a teacher, governess, and caretaker to children during World War II. After the war, she worked with older adults and orphans for over three decades.
Lucile Rendon, also known as Sister Andrè, passed away today in Toulon, France.
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 17, 2023
The Catholic nun would have turned 119 in 3 weeks.
She was 18 years old on the 2nd picture taken in 1922 and 5 years old on the 3rd picture taken in 1909. pic.twitter.com/6rhqTF9izH
Sister André also worked at Vichy, an Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes-area hospital, for nearly three decades before becoming a Catholic nun, per Guinness World Records. She lived through World War II and also survived the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918 and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, despite testing positive for the virus on January 16, 2021. Sister André was the oldest living survivor of COVID-19, as per Guinness World Records. When asked about surviving COVID-19, she said, “No, I wasn’t scared because I wasn’t scared to die… I’m happy to be with you, but I would wish to be somewhere else – join my big brother and my grandfather and my grandmother,” to France’s BFM Television, reported New York Post.
In 2021, at the height of Covid-19, Sister Andre was asked if she was afraid of contracting the virus. "No, I wasn't scared,” she said, “because I wasn't scared to die." RIP https://t.co/SbsgIOw7kn https://t.co/GSLfvJr3qb
— Edward Pentin (@EdwardPentin) January 17, 2023
"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," Sister André had told Guinness World Records about her daily routine at her retirement home. Her final days were spent eating chocolates and sweets and drinking wine. "Her glass of wine maintains her and which is perhaps her longevity secret," a staff member from the retirement home had told last year. "I don't know — I don't encourage people to drink a glass of wine every day!"
World's oldest known person, French nun Sister Andre, has died at the age of 118 at her retirement home in France pic.twitter.com/O7ApUZtrXS
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) January 18, 2023
"How incredible that we shared the same air as someone who was born just a couple of months after the Wright Brothers' first powered flight - and a few months before the New York subway system opened," said Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief for Guinness World Records, in a statement. Glenday added that Sister André was the "fourth oldest person ever authenticated" by Guinness, reported CBS News.
References:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-18/the-worlds-oldest-known-person-dies-at-118/101866102
https://people.com/human-interest/sister-andre-worlds-oldest-person-dead-in-france-at-age-118/
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/17/europe/france-oldest-person-world-dies-intl/index.html
https://nypost.com/2023/01/17/sister-andre-the-worlds-oldest-living-person-dies-at-118/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sister-andre-worlds-oldest-known-person-dies-at-118/
Cover Image Source: YouTube | Inside Edition