The world’s oldest human, a French nun named Lucile Randon, died Tuesday in Toulon at the age of 118.
Known as Sister André, Randon was born Feb. 11, 1904, and dedicated her long life to serving others, according to CNN. Before joining the Catholic Church as a nun, Sister André took care of children during World War II and spent a further 28 years caring for orphans and the elderly.
“There is great sadness, but she wanted it to happen, it was her desire to join her beloved brother. For her, it is freedom,” her spokesperson David Tavella said following her death at 2:00 a.m. local time, CNN noted.
Sister André the world’s oldest person at age 118 has died a few weeks short of her 119th birthday. May she rest in the peace of Christ. pic.twitter.com/4V7Spc0dOO
— Father V (@father_rmv) January 18, 2023
Sister André lived through the reigns of ten different popes, CNN noted. She once told reporters that “only the good Lord knows” why she stayed alive for so long, according to BBC.
“People say that work kills. For me, work kept me alive, I kept working until I was 108,” she said in a 2022 interview, according to the BBC. She noted in the same interview that she would be better off in heaven, but enjoyed simple earthly pleasures such as drinking a glass of wine every day and eating chocolate. (RELATED: Pope Francis Says We Are Living Through A ‘Third World War’)
Sister André became the world’s oldest living human in April 2022 after Kane Tanaka from Japan died aged 119, Guinness World Records announced. Sister André was around three years away from becoming the oldest person in history whose age has been independently verified, a title held by her fellow countrywoman Jeanne Louise Calmet, who died at the age of 122 years, 164 days in August 1991.