Lucile Randon, the world's oldest known person, dies at 118

French nun Lucile Randon, the world's oldest known person, died Tuesday in her sleep at a nursing home in Toulon. She was 118.

"There is great sadness, but ... it was her desire to join her beloved brother. For her, it's a liberation," David Tavella with the Sainte-Catherine-Labouré nursing home told Agence France-Presse.

Randon, known as Sister André, was born on Feb. 11, 1904, in southern France. She worked as a governess and teacher before joining a convent in 1944, retiring in 1979. In 2021, there was a COVID-19 outbreak in her nursing home, which killed 10 people. "She showed no fear of the illness, in fact she was more worried about the other residents," Tavella said.

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She became the world's oldest known person after Kane Tanaka of Japan died in 2022 at the age of 119. When asked by a French radio station her secret for longevity, Randon responded, "I've no idea ... only God can answer that question. I've had plenty of unhappiness in life and during the 1914-1918 war when I was a child, I suffered like everyone else."