116-Year-Old Brazilian Nun Becomes World’s Oldest Living Person

Inah Canabarro Lucas, a religious educator and Covid-19 survivor, is officially recognized by gerontology researchers as the oldest person alive.

Inah Canabarro Lucas, born in 1908 in São Francisco de Assis, Brazil, has been named the world’s oldest living person by the Gerontology Research Group.
A member of the religious congregation of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, she became a nun at 19 and spent her career teaching subjects like mathematics and Portuguese.
Lucas survived a Covid-19 infection at the age of 114, making her one of the oldest known survivors of the virus.
Her family attributes her longevity to her spiritual devotion, daily prayers, and dedication to others, as noted by her nephew Kleber Vieira Canabarro Lucas.
She succeeds Japan’s Tomiko Itooka, who also lived to 116, and is followed by Ethel Caterham of the UK, currently the second-oldest person at 115.