Inah Canabarro Lucas | Gerontology Research Group

Full name: Inah Canabarro Lucas
Lifespan: (08.06.1908 – 30.04.2025)
Age: 116 years, 326 days
Birthplace: São Francisco de Assis, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Last residence: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Application date: 17.12.2020
Validation date: 08.06.2022
Validation source: Josemara Rocha/Robert Young/Ricardo Pereira Lago/Tiago José Soares Silva/Gérson Dias/Irmã Lúcia Ignez Bassotto/Dr. Ângelo José Gonçalves Bós

Biography

Inah Canabarro Lucas was born in São Francisco de Assis, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on 8 June 1908, to parents João Antonio Lucas and Mariana Canabarro Lucas. While she has claimed to have been born on 27 May 1908, research found that she was likely born 11 days later. As a child, she was so skinny that many people didn’t think she would survive childhood. She is the great-granddaughter of General David Canabarro. Her father died in combat in 1923.

She studied at the Santa Teresa de Jesus boarding school in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul. Around 1928, she moved to Montevideo, Uruguay, where she became a nun. In 1930, she returned to Brazil to teach Portuguese and mathematics at a school in Tijuca, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. In the early 1940s, she moved back to Santana do Livramento where she worked as a teacher.

On 25 January 2021, at the age of 112, she received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, making her one of the oldest people to receive the vaccine. In October 2022, Canabarro Lucas contracted COVID-19 while she was hospitalized, but was later able to recover from the disease in November 2022, making her one of the oldest known survivors of the disease.

On 2 January 2022, at the age of 113 years, 208 days, Canabarro Lucas surpassed the final age of Luzia Mohrs (1904–2017), becoming the oldest Brazilian ecclesiastical person ever.

On 23 January 2022, following the death of 116-year-old Antonia da Santa Cruz, she became the oldest living person in Brazil.

On 30 July 2022, following the death of 114-year-old Sofía Rojas de Díaz of Colombia, she became the oldest living person in South America.

On 17 January 2023, following the death of 118-year-old Lucile Randon of France, she became the oldest living nun in the world.

On her 115th birthday in 2023, Dr. Ângelo José Gonçalves Bós, GRG Correspondent for Brazil, visited Inah Canabarro Lucas and presented her with the official GRG plaque, recognizing her as the oldest living person in Brazil, and South America.

On 29 December 2024, following the death of 116-year-old Tomiko Itooka of Japan, Canabarro Lucas became the World’s Oldest Living Person, as well as the last surviving human born in 1908.

Inah Canabarro Lucas passed away in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, at the age of 116 years, 326 days, on April 30 2025.

After her sad passing, Ethel Caterham of the UK became the ‘World’s Oldest Living Person’ titleholder.

Inah Canabarro Lucas on her 115th birthday in 2023.

Longevity recognition

WORLD’S OLDEST LIVING PERSON (29.12.2024 – 30.04.2025)
World’s oldest living nun (17.01.2023 – 30.04.2025)
Oldest living person in South America (30.07.2022 – 30.04.2025)
Oldest living person in Brazil (23.01.2022 – 30.04.2025)

Validation

Her age was verified by Josemara Rocha, Robert Young, Ricardo Pereira Lago, Tiago José Soares Silva, Gérson Dias, Irmã Lúcia Ignez Bassotto, and Dr. Ângelo José Gonçalves Bós, and validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) on 8 June 2022.