Maria Branyas of Spain; world’s oldest person dies aged 117

MADRID — Maria Branyas, believed to be the oldest person in the world, has died at the age of 117, her family announced on social media on Tuesday.

Branyas, who became the oldest person alive after the death of French nun Lucile Randon in January 2023, had “left us.” Her family added, “She died peacefully in her sleep, as she wanted, calm and without pain,” in a residential home in the town of Olot, in northeastern Spain.

The message also contained some of Branyas’ last words from a few days earlier.

“One day, that I still don’t know, but which is very close, this long journey will have ended. Death will find me tired after having lived for so long, but I want it to find me smiling, free and satisfied,” she is reported to have stated. “Don’t cry, I don’t like tears and above all don’t suffer for me, because you know me, I will be happy wherever I go, because I will have you with me in some way,” Xinhua news agency reported.

The daughter of a journalist, Maria Branyas was born in San Francisco, United States, on March 4, 1907, and returned to Spain in 1914. She initially worked as a nurse before becoming a healthcare official at a hospital in Girona.

She is survived by two daughters and had a son who passed away at the age of 86, along with 11 grandchildren.

Maria Branyas overcame the Covid-19 virus in 2020. However, her daughter Rosa noted that she had “gone downhill” since 2023. “She isn’t in pain, nor is she ill,” Rosa explained, attributing her condition to her advanced age.