This French nun confirmed as the world’s oldest person

Sister André is now officially the oldest person alive at 118 years 73 days old, Guinness World Records confirmed on Monday. The announcement comes following the demise of Kane Tanaka (Japan) who previously held the record of the oldest person alive.

Born on February 11, 1904, as Lucile Randon, André has become the record holder for the oldest person living (female) and the overall oldest person living.

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Lucile, who took the name of Sister André in 1944, is the third-oldest French person and the third-oldest European person ever recorded.

More recently, Sister André received yet another startling record for the oldest COVID-19 survivor. Now 118, she is now partially deaf and uses a wheelchair, but likes to keep her mind active. She has lived in her retirement home for the last 12 years.

Sister André has lived a full life and in her younger years worked as a teacher, a governess and looked after children during World War II.

After the war, she spent 28 years working with orphans and elderly people at a hospital in Vichy, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region before becoming a Catholic nun. 

Spending most of her life dedicated to religious service, Sister André also holds the record for the oldest nun living.

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