Maria Branyas Morera, a Spaniard born in the United States and considered the oldest person in the world, has passed away at the age of 117, her family reported this Tuesday.
"Maria Branyas has left us. She has gone as she wanted: while she slept, peacefully and without pain," they wrote in a message on the social network X, where her son-in-law documented the elderly woman's reflections under the title "Catalan super grandmother."
Branyas officially became the world's oldest person in January 2023, following the death of the French nun Lucile Randon, who passed away at the age of 118.
Born on March 4, 1907, in San Francisco, California, but to Catalan parents, Branyas moved to Catalonia at an early age, where she lived most of her long life.
At just eight years old, Branyas suffered the loss of his father after he contracted tuberculosis on the ship that was bringing them back to Europe.
That fact, along with the impact on his hearing ability and the experience of exile during the Spanish Civil War, marked his life, but did not prevent him from reaching a long life and maintaining an optimistic and friendly spirit.
Branyas married the traumatologist Joan Moret in 1931, with whom she had three children, to which were later added 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Despite her advanced age, her lucidity and good health surprised both experts and family members alike, until in recent months she began to show signs of weakness.
His life was the subject of scientific studies, including those conducted by Dr. Manel Esteller, who researched his DNA to understand the secrets of his longevity.
According to Esteller, factors such as a good genome, a Mediterranean diet rich in yogurt, and an active social life contributed to his extraordinary resistance to aging and common diseases in other people of his age.
Throughout her life, Branyas stayed attentive to historical and political events, although in her later years, after losing her hearing and sight, she began to distance herself from those subjects.
Still, he shared his reflections on life and death with his family and followers on social media.
María Branyas was one of the longest-lived people to overcome COVID-19. She defeated the disease in 2020 when she was 113 years old.
With her passing, the title of the oldest person in the world now goes to the Japanese woman Tomiko Itooka, born on May 23, 1908, who is 116 years old.
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