Nun, world’s oldest known person, dies at 118

A French nun who was believed to be the world’s oldest person has died a few weeks before her 119th birthday, the spokesperson for her nursing home in southern France said Wednesday.

Lucile Randon, known as Sister André, was born in the town of Ales, southern France, on February 11, 1904. She was also one of the world’s oldest survivors of COVID-19.

The Gerontology Research Group listed her as the oldest known person in the world after the death of Japan’s Kane Tanaka, aged 119, last year. She tested positive for the coronavirus in January 2021, shortly before her 117thbirthday, but she had so few symptoms that she didn’t even realize she was infected.

Her survival made headlines both in France and beyond. The oldest living known person in the world listed by the Gerontology Research Group is now American-born Maria Branyas Morera, who is living in Spain, and is 115.