A football-loving Brazilian nun, Sister Inah Canabarro, has reportedly become the world’s oldest living person at nearly 117, following the death of a Japanese woman.
Known for her resilience, Sister Inah was so frail as a child that many doubted she would survive, her 84-year-old nephew, Cleber Canabarro, told The Associated Press (AP).
LongeviQuest, an organization that tracks supercentenarians worldwide, confirmed Sister Inah’s status on Saturday, citing early-life records validating her remarkable age.
Despite relying on a wheelchair, she remains an enduring symbol of longevity.
In a video recorded by the organization last February, the smiling Sister Inah is seen cracking jokes, sharing miniature paintings of wildflowers she once created, and reciting the Hail Mary prayer.
The secret to her longevity? Her Catholic faith, she says.
“I’m young, pretty, and friendly – all very good, positive qualities that you have too,” the Teresian nun told visitors at her retirement home in Porto Alegre, a city in southern Brazil.
Her nephew visits her every Saturday and sends voice messages between visits to keep her spirits up following two hospitalizations that left her weak and struggling to speak.
“The other sisters say she gets a jolt when she hears my voice,” he said. “She gets excited.”
Sister Inah was born on June 8, 1908, to a large family in southern Brazil, according to LongeviQuest researchers.
However, her nephew said her birth was registered two weeks late, and she was actually born on May 27.
Her great-grandfather was a famed Brazilian general who fought during the turbulent period following Brazil’s independence from Portugal in the 19th century.
She began her religious work 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, her former students included Gen. Joao Figueiredo, the last of the military dictators who governed Brazil between 1964 and 1985.
She also founded two beloved marching bands at schools in sister cities along the Uruguay-Brazil border.
For her 110th birthday, she was honored by Pope Francis.
She is the second-oldest nun ever documented, after Lucile Randon, who was the world’s oldest person until her death in 2023 at age 118.
Local football club Internacional – founded after Sister Inah’s birth – celebrates her birthday every year as their oldest fan. Her room is adorned with gifts in the team’s red and white colors, her nephew said.
“White or Black, rich or poor, whoever you are, Inter is the team of the people,” Sister Inah said in a video posted on social media celebrating her 116th birthday with the club’s president.
Sister Inah became the world’s oldest living person following the death of Japan’s Tomiko Itooka in December, according to LongeviQuest.
She now ranks as the 20th-oldest documented person to have ever lived. That list is topped by Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at age 122, according to LongeviQuest.