Sister Andre, a French nun and the oldest person on the planet has died at age 118 in the southern French city of Toulon, less than a month away from her 119th birthday.

Born in 1904 as Lucile Randon, she was known for her devoted altruism, looking after children during World War II and spending around three decades caring for orphans and elderly people in hospital, before dedicating herself to religious service.

She became the world’s oldest person following the passing of Kane Tanaka, a Japanese woman who previously held the record for the world’s oldest person until she died at the age of 119 on 19th April 2022.

Living for more than a century, Sister Andre survived two world wars, two pandemics, 18 French presidents, 10 popes and a COVID-19 infection. She holds a number of world records, including the oldest survivor of COVID-19 and the oldest nun ever to live.

The title of the oldest person ever recorded was also French, belonging to a woman named  Jeanne Louise Calment, born in 1875 and spanning 122 years, according to the Guinness World Records statement.