A Brazilian soccer-loving nun is the world’s oldest person at nearly 117 years old

A soccer-loving nun from Brazil is believed to be the world’s oldest person at around 117 years old. The recent death of a woman from Japan.

Sister Inah Canabarro was so thin growing up that many didn’t think she would survive childhood, her 84-year-old nephew Kleber Canabarro told The Associated Press.

LongeviQuest, an organization that tracks centenarians around the world, released a statement on Saturday announcing the wheelchair-bound nun as the world’s oldest person confirmed by early life records.

In a video the organization shot last February, a smiling Canabarro is seen sharing jokes, making miniature paintings of wildflowers and reciting the Hail Mary prayer.

The secret to longevity? His Catholic faith, he says.

“I am young, pretty and kind – all very good, positive qualities you have too,” the Teresian nun tells visitors to her nursing home in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.

Her nephew spends time with her every Saturday and sends voice messages between visits to cheer her up after two hospitalizations.

“Other sisters say that they tremble when they hear my voice. “He’s excited.”

According to LongeviQuest researchers, Canabarro was born on June 8, 1908 into a large family in southern Brazil. But his nephew said his birth was registered two weeks late and he was actually born on May 27. His 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.

He became religious as a teenager and spent two years in Montevideo, Uruguay before moving to Rio de Janeiro and finally settling in his native state of Rio Grande do Sul. General Joao Figueiredo, the last of the military dictators who ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985, was a lifelong teacher among his former students. He was also the beloved founder of two marching bands in schools in twin cities on the border between Uruguay and Brazil. .

He was awarded by Pope Francis on the occasion of his 110th anniversary. She is the second oldest documented nun after her Lucille RandonHe was the oldest person in the world until he died in 2023 at the age of 118.

The local football club “Inter”, founded after the birth of Canabarro, celebrates the birthday of its oldest fan every year. His room was decorated with gifts in the team’s red and white colors, his nephew said.

“White or black, rich or poor, whoever you are, Inter is the people’s team,” he says. the video was posted on the social network He celebrates his 116th birthday with the president of the club.

According to LongeviQuest, Canabarro took the title of Japan’s oldest person after the death of Tomiko Ituka in December. According to LongeviQuest, he ranks as the 20th oldest documented person to have ever lived.