Maria Branyas, an American-born Spaniard believed to be the world’s oldest person, has passed away, her family has announced.
In a post on Ms. Branyas’s X account, formerly known as Twitter, her family wrote in Catalan: “Maria Branyas has left us. She departed as she wished: peacefully, in her sleep, and without pain.”
She was 117 years old.
Ms. Branyas was born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, before her family returned to Spain when she was a child.
At the time of her passing, she was living in a nursing home in the Catalan town of Olot.
Her X account, formerly Twitter, was called “Super Catalan Grandma” and featured the description: “I am old, very old, but not an idiot.”
In her final social media post, she expressed feeling weak, writing: “The time is near. Don’t cry, I don’t like tears. And above all, don’t suffer for me. Wherever I go, I will be happy.”
The Gerontology Research Group, which verifies the ages of those believed to be 110 or older, had recognized Ms. Branyas as the world’s oldest known person after the passing of French nun Lucile Randon last year.
Ms. Randon was known for enjoying a daily glass of wine before she passed away at 118.
The next oldest person listed by the Gerontology Research Group is Tomiko Itooka from Japan, who is 116.
The only person verified to have lived past 120 was French citizen Jeanne Calment, who lived for 122 years and 164 days before her death in 1997.
