Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, a Brazilian nun and the world’s oldest living person, has died at the age of 116, her family confirmed.
Born on June 8, 1908, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, Inah devoted nearly a century of her life to religious service and education. She died peacefully at a residence of the Teresian Sisters, the religious order she joined in her youth.
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“She didn’t have any illness,” said her nephew. “Her body had just gradually stopped.”
Inah became a nun in her early 20s after attending a religious boarding school from the age of 16. She spent part of her early adult life in Montevideo, Uruguay, before returning to Brazil in 1930, where she taught Portuguese and mathematics at a school in Rio de Janeiro.
Despite her age, Inah maintained relatively good health throughout her life. She did not undergo any surgeries until she had cataract surgery at the age of 106. In her final years, she experienced some vision and hearing loss but retained her disciplined routine and spiritual focus.
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“She always got up, ate, prayed, and slept at the same time each day,” her family told Brazilian television.
Her faith was the cornerstone of her longevity. “He (God) is the secret to life,” she once told reporters. In 2018, she received a blessing from Pope Francis.
Those who knew her described her as kind-hearted, disciplined, and joyful. “She never complained,” said Sister Terezinha Aragon, a fellow nun. “She was always grateful and good-humoured.”
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Beyond her devotion to God, Inah was a passionate football fan. A lifelong supporter of Sport Club Internacional, she marked every birthday with a cake shaped like the team’s stadium and wore the club’s red scarf on her 116th birthday. She also collected shirts and pillows bearing the team’s logo.
The club paid tribute to her on social media, writing, “It is with enormous sadness that we learn of the passing of Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas,” and celebrating her legacy of “kindness, faith, and love for Internacional.”
With Inah’s passing, the title of the world’s oldest living person now belongs to Ethel Caterham, a 115-year-old woman from Surrey, England.
