Inah Canabarro Lucas (8 June 1908 – 30 April 2025), known as Irmã (Sister) Inah, was a Brazilian supercentenarian who was the oldest living person in the world and the 15th-oldest human ever recorded at the time of her death. She is the second-oldest nun in documented history, behind Lucile Randon. She was also the oldest living person in Brazil and had held the title since the death of Antonia da Santa Cruz on 23 January 2022. Her age is validated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG) and by LongeviQuest (LQ).
Canabarro Lucas became the oldest living person in the world on 29 December 2024, following the death of Tomiko Itooka.
Biography[]
Inah Canabarro Lucas was born on 8 June 1908 (claimed 27 May) in São Francisco de Assis, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, to João Antonio Lucas (1870–1923) and Mariana Canabarro Lucas (1878–1954). She was the great-granddaughter of Brazilian general David Canabarro (1796-1867). As a child, Canabarro Lucas was so skinny that people thought she wouldn't survive her childhood.
As a teenager, Canabarro Lucas studied at the Santa Teresa de Jesus boarding school in Santana do Livramento, Rio Grande do Sul. She moved to Montevideo, Uruguay, and at the age of 21, Canabarro Lucas was confirmed in the Catholic Church on 1 October 1929, becoming a nun. In 1930, Canabarro Lucas returned to Brazil and taught mathematics and Portuguese at a school in Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. She renewed her religious vows and continued to teach in the 1930s. Reportedly, she taught João Figueiredo (1918-1999), who would serve as the 30th president of Brazil between 1979 and 1985. In the early 1940s, Canabarro Lucas returned to Santana do Livramento and there she continued her vocation as a teacher in July 1942.
Canabarro Lucas worked in Itaqui between 1949 and 1961. Between 1961 and 1979, she worked as a professor and secretary in Santana do Livramento. She then briefly returned to Itaqui. At the age of 71 in February 1980, she took a position at the Provincial House in Porto Alegre and remained there until her retirement in 1995.
Canabarro Lucas celebrated her 110th birthday on 8 June 2018, becoming a supercentenarian. She was also granted an apostolic blessing from Pope Francis.
Canabarro Lucas liked football and her favourite football club is SC Internacional. She believed that her faith was the secret for her longevity.
In January 2025, she was hospitalized and put on oxygen for undisclosed reasons. She later appeared to recover based on a photo from March of that year, where she was not wearing a nasal cannula.
Canabarro Lucas died on 30 April 2025 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, at the age of 116 years, 326 days.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Inah Canabarro Lucas Wikipedia
- Video of Inah Canabarro Lucas on YouTube January 2025
References[]
- Inah Canabarro Lucas LongeviQuest
- Inah Canabarro Lucas Gerontology Research Group
- LongeviQuest Confirms Inah Canabarro Lucas (Brazil) as the World’s Oldest Person LongeviQuest, 4 January 2025
| Distinctions of Inah Canabarro Lucas |
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29 December 2024 — 30 April 2025 Predecessor: Tomiko Itooka Successor:Ethel Caterham |
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23 January 2022 — 30 April 2025 Predecessor: Antonia da Santa Cruz Successor: Izabel Rosa Pereira |