Sister André, born Lucile Randon, will turn 118 on Friday 11 February. She is not only the longest-lived religious in the world, she is also the oldest European ever and the second oldest person in the world.

Since 2009 he has lived in the Sainte-Catherine-Labouré retirement home, in Toulon, in the south east of France.

In her retirement home last year there was an outbreak of Covid that claimed 10 victims, she - eternal - overcame the infection.

Born in 1904 in Ales, in the south of France, into a Protestant family, she converted at 19 and joined the ranks of the Vincentians in Paris in 1944.

She is blind and tied to a wheelchair, but her general condition is good. On her 116th birthday, when she was asked for the recipe for such a long and happy life, she replied: "Prayer and a cup of hot chocolate every day."

On the social profile of the retirement home where the nun is hosted, the photo of Sister André with the birthday cake is expected, as has already happened in past years.

On February 12, 2021, the nun even connected with the director general of the World Health Organization Hans Kluge for a discussion on seniority.

(Unioneonline / L)