World's oldest person Maria Branyas Morera dies aged 117
The world's oldest person Maria Branyas Morera has died aged 117, her family has announced on social media on Tuesday.
The Guinness World Records released a statement confirming her death at the age of 117 years and 168 days, making her the eighth-oldest person with a verifiable age in history.
US-born Morera was dubbed the oldest living person in January 2023 after the death of French nun Sister Andre at the age of 118.
She previously told the Guinness World Records that she had lived a long life thanks to "order, tranquility, good connection with family and friends."
“I think longevity is also about being lucky. Luck and good genetics,” she added.
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On Tuesday, Morera’s family published a post on her X account announcing her death.
“She has gone the way she wanted: in her sleep, at peace, and without pain,” reads the post.
Her family added that Morera told them shortly before her death: “I don’t know when, but very soon this long journey will come to an end. Death will find me worn down from having lived so much, but I want it to find me smiling, free, and satisfied.”
Her birth on March 4, 1907 came two years before construction began on the Titanic.
She was born a year after her parents emigrated to the US from Spain - eight years later they moved back, during World War I.
Morera was born a year after her parents emigrated to the US from Spain. Eight years later, the family moved back, arriving in Barcelona during World War I.
She spent the last few decades of her life at a Catalonia nursing home. And, despite her advanced age, she made use of an X account to communicate with her thousands of followers.
“I am old, very old, but not an idiot,” her bio reads on the social media platform.
Morera is among the oldest people to have recovered from Covid-19, having tested positive for the virus in May 2020.
The title of the oldest person ever recorded belongs to Jeanne Louise Calment who was born on February 21, 1875 and lived 122 years and 164 days, according to Guinness World Records.
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