World’s oldest person, Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro, dies at 116 years of age
A 116-year-old soccer-loving nun from Brazil has died just months after being declared the world’s oldest person.
Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas passed away on April 30, according to local media, with her title now passing on to 115-year-old Briton Ethel Caterham, according to both the US Gerontological Research Group and the LongeviQuest database.
Sister Canabarro’s death was announced in a statement by her Congregation of Teresian Sisters of Brazil in a statement paying tribute to her life of “dedication and devotion”.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Sister Canabarro became the world’s oldest person in January following the passing of Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka, who was also 116 years of age.
The wheelchair-bound nun was so skinny growing up that many didn’t think she would survive childhood, Cleber Canabarro, her 84-year-old nephew, told The Associated Press in January.
In a video shot last February by LongeviQuest, an organisation which tracks supercentenarians around the globe, the smiling Sister Canabarro revealed the secret to her longevity: her Catholic faith.
“I’m young, pretty and friendly — all very good, positive qualities that you have too,” the Teresian nun would tell the visitors to her retirement home in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.
Sister Canabarro was born on June 8, 1908 to a large family in southern Brazil, according to LongeviQuest researchers.
But her nephew said her birth was registered two weeks late and she was actually born on May 27.
She became a nun in 1934 at the age of 26, between World Wars I and II, according to LongeviQuest.
Her great-grandfather was a famed Brazilian general who took up arms during the turbulent period following Brazil’s independence from Portugal in the 19th century.
