French nun Sister André passed away this week.

This week, the oldest living person in the world passed away at the age of 118. Sister André, a French nun living in a nursing home in the city of Toulon, was confirmed dead on Tuesday morning, having passed peacefully in the night.

Sister André, a French nun and the world’s oldest known person, died at 118. She lived through two world wars, 18 French presidents, 10 popes, the 1918 influenza pandemic and a Covid infection.https://t.co/aPXoeFX2Hg

— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 18, 2023

Sister André’s passing was announced by the mayor of Toulon, Hubert Falco, who wrote on Twitter that “it is with immense sadness and emotion that I learnt tonight of the passing of the world’s oldest person #SisterAndré.”

David Tavella, Sister André’s official spokesman, confirmed the news. “There is great sadness, but she wanted it to happen, it was her desire to join her beloved brother. For her, it is freedom,” he said.

The world’s oldest person, a French nun who worked until the age of 108, has died at her nursing home at the age of 118 https://t.co/eY2Lbq3fNq

— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) January 18, 2023

Sister André became the official oldest living person in the world, commemorated by the Guinness Book of World Records, when the title’s previous holder, Japanese native Kane Tanaka, passed away last year at the age of 119. In addition to that record, she also held the distinction of being history’s oldest nun, having dedicated herself to religious service until she was 108 years old.

Sister André was born in 1904 and spent the majority of her life as a Catholic nun, witnessing the coming and going of ten different Popes in her lifetime.