It is believed that a Brazilian nun who loves soccer has become the oldest person in the world, at nearly 117 years old, following the recent death of a woman from Japan.
The LongeviQuest, an organization that tracks supercentenarians around the world, issued a statement on Saturday (4) declaring the nun as the oldest person in the world.
In a video recorded by the organization last February, the smiling Canabarro can be seen telling jokes, sharing miniature paintings she used to make of wildflowers, and reciting the Ave Maria prayer.
The secret to her longevity? Her Catholic faith, she says.
“I am young, beautiful, and friendly — all very good and positive qualities that you also have,” says the Teresian nun to visitors at her nursing home in the city of Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil.
Canabarro was born on June 8, 1908, into a large family in southern Brazil, according to researchers from LongeviQuest. However, one of her nephews said her birth was registered two weeks late and that she was actually born on May 27. Her great-grandfather was a famous Brazilian general who took up arms during the turbulent period following Brazil’s independence from Portugal in the 19th century.
She began working in religion as a teenager and spent two years in Montevideo, Uruguay, before moving to Rio de Janeiro and eventually settling in her home state of Rio Grande do Sul.
A lifelong teacher, among her former students was General João Figueiredo, the last of the military dictators who ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985.
On her 110th birthday, she was honored by Pope Francis. She is the second oldest nun ever documented, after Lucile Randon, who was the oldest person in the world until her death in 2023 at the age of 118.
Canabarro assumed the title of the oldest living person following the death of Japanese Tomiko Itooka in December, according to LongeviQuest. She is now ranked as the 20th oldest documented person to have lived, a list led by Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122, according to LongeviQuest.
The soccer club Internacional – which was founded after Canabarro’s birth – celebrates every year the birthday of its oldest fan. Her room is decorated with gifts in the red and white colors of her beloved team.
Source: CNN