Nun who was world’s oldest person dies aged 116

Born on May 27, 1908, the Teresian nun was the oldest person in the world, according to LongeviQuest, a group of researchers that studies centenarians. She lived in Porto Alegre, in the Santo Enrique de Ossó Shelter, located next to the provincial house of the Teresian Sisters of Brazil, a community she joined in 1927 at age 19.

In a March 2024 interview with ACI Digital, Sr Inah mentioned that one of the secrets to her longevity was praying every day for all the people of the world.

Over the course of more than a century, she experienced many changes in the world and in the Church. The nun lived through two world wars and 10 popes. The year she was born, St Pius X was pope.

As a teaching sister, Inah taught Portuguese, mathematics, science, history, art and religion in Teresian schools in Rio de Janeiro, Itaqui, and Santana do Livramento, a city where she is much loved because it was where she spent most of her life.

A notable achievement in her life was the creation of the Santa Teresa School marching band in Santana do Livramento. The band featured 115 musical instruments and performed in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. She also collaborated in the creation of the renowned Pomoli High School marching band in Rivera, Uruguay, sister city of Santana do Livramento.

Sr Inah was an enthusiastic fan of Sport Clube Internacional soccer team, founded in 1909 when she was just one year old. With her death, the world’s oldest person, according to LongeviQuest, becomes Englishwoman Ethel Caterham, who is 115.

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World’s oldest person, Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, dies at 116 | Catholic News Agency (By Natalia Zimbrão/CNA)