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The world's oldest person, Maria Branyas-Morella, has died in the Spanish region of Catalonia at the age of 117 years and 168 days, her family announced on Tuesday.
Born in San Francisco in the United States in 1907, she lived through two world wars, the Spanish Civil War and the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, and faced many personal challenges during her childhood, including losing her father while her family was emigrated to Spain, and suffering from hearing loss as a child.
Her incredible longevity has been recognised by both the Gerontology Research Group and the Guinness World Records, and Branyas-Morella has become a symbol of resilience by surviving COVID-19 at 113 years old.
“Maria Branyas has left us. She passed away peacefully and painlessly in her sleep, as she wished,” her family wrote on her X account. Branyas-Morella died on August 19.
“We will always remember her advice and kindness.”
Catalan President Salvador Illa reshared the post, offering his condolences to the family.
“María Branyas, Catalan grandmother and the world's oldest living grandmother, has passed away. We have lost a beloved woman who taught us the value of life and the wisdom of the years.”
Branyas-Morella, who has spent the past 20 years at the Santa Maria del Tura nursing home in Olot, northeastern Spain, shared in a post on Tuesday that she feels “weak.”
Her account was run by a family member.
“The time is approaching,” she added. “Please don't cry, I hate tears, and above all, don't worry about me. I'm happy wherever I go.”
In January 2023, Guinness World Records recognized Branyas-Morella as the world's oldest living person, following the death of French nun Lucile Landon at the age of 118.
According to the Gerontology Research Group, Branyas-Morera fell while moving to Spain and damaged his eardrum, resulting in permanent hearing loss in one ear.
“Towards the end of the voyage, Branyas-Morella's father, Joseph Branyas Julia, died of pulmonary tuberculosis at age 37, leaving Branyas-Morella's mother to support the family of five alone,” the report states.
Maria Branyas-Morella passed away in her sleep (x.com/MariaBranyas112)
Branyas Morera tested positive for COVID-19 in April 2020 but recovered, becoming the oldest recorded COVID-19 survivor at the time.
In an interview with the Observer, she called for better treatment of the elderly.
“This pandemic has revealed that older people are forgotten in our society. They have fought their whole lives, sacrificed their time and dreams for the quality of life we have today. They should not have left this world like this,” she said.
Branyas Morera married Dr. Joan Moret in 1931 and had two daughters and one son. He died in 1976.
In August 2019, it was reported that he has 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
In X, she described herself as “Soc vella, molt vella, però no idiota,” which means “I am old, very old, but I am not stupid.”
She frequently posted on social media in Catalan, sharing reflections on her life, memories from the past and even a recipe for paella, a Spanish speciality.
Last February, American documentary filmmaker Sam Green visited Branyas-Morella while shooting the film “The World's Oldest People.” The documentary, which began filming in 2015, features interviews with the world's oldest people.
The filmmakers planned to hold a “premiere” every 10 years, and Branyas-Morella intended to attend. “I will be at the premiere,” she wrote to X.
According to Guinness World Records, she attributed her longevity to “order, peace, good relationships with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, lack of worries and regrets, lots of positivity, and staying away from toxic people.”
“I think longevity is also a blessing — luck and good genes,” she added.
Her youngest daughter, Rosa Mollet, once said her mother's longevity was “genetic,” according to CBS News.
“She has never been to hospital, she has never broken a bone, she is fine and she is not in pain,” Moret told Catalan television in 2023.
Following Branyas-Morella's death, the title of world's oldest person went to 116-year-old Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka.
