In the weeks leading up to her 117th birthday, Sister André spent her days in solitary confinement in her room at the Sainte Catherine Labouré retirement home in the southern French city of Toulon. The nun was one of dozens of residents at the home who tested positive for coronavirus.
But on Tuesday, Sister André was declared recovering from the virus, a spokeswoman for her retirement village told Reuters, allowing her to retain her title as the oldest living European and second-oldest person in the world, according to Gerontology Research Group see “World Supercentenarian Rankings.”
“We consider her a cure. She is very calm and is looking forward to celebrating her 117th birthday on Thursday, “spokesperson David Tavella told Reuters.
Ten others at the retirement home died of covid-19, Le Parisien reported after 81 of the 88 residents tested positive in January. There have been more than 3.4 million cases in France and more than 80,000 deaths, according to The Washington Post’s coveted tracker.
Sister André, originally Lucile Randon, was born on February 11, 1904, in Alès, a town in the Occitanie region of southern France. According to Le Parisien, she grew up as a governor in Marseille and a tutor in Paris at a young age.
She converted to Catholicism at 19, and at 25 she began working in a hospital. For 28 years she cared for the elderly and orphans. In 1944, she joined the Daughters of Charity to become a nun at the age of 40. She adopted the name Sister André in honor of her deceased brother, and in 2009 she moved to the retirement village, reports Le Parisien.
When Sister André turned 115, Pope Francis sent her, according to FAMVIN, a religious news service, a personal letter and a blessed rosary.
After her diagnosis with covid-19 in mid-January, Sister André was asymptomatic. Blind and in a wheelchair, the retired nun who went through the flu pandemic in 1918 and both world wars, told the BFM TV of France that she was not afraid when she tested positive because she was not afraid to die.
“I’m glad to be with you, but I would like to be somewhere else – join my older brother and my grandparents,” she said according to a Reuters translation of the TV interview.
Tavella told the Var-Matin newspaper that the nun was more upset about a break in her routine than in her health.
“For example, she wanted to know if the meals and bedtimes would change,” Tavella said. “She showed no fear of the disease, but was more concerned about the other residents.”
While Sister André spent most of her time in prayer, she told Le Parisien that she longed for the days when she could eat with friends and walk in the garden.
Tavella told the newspaper the nun is very sociable and likes to listen to music.
As for her 117th birthday on Thursday, Tavella told Reuters that Sister André was “very calm” and “very much looking forward to celebrating”. He added that the event would be small, given the high risks.
“She was very happy,” Tavella said.