Maria Branyas, an American-born Spaniard considered the world’s oldest person at 117 years old, has died, her family says.

In a post on Branyas’ X account on Tuesday, her family wrote in Catalan: “Maria Branyas has left us.”

“She has gone the way she wanted: in her sleep, at peace, and without pain,” they said.

US-born Maria Branyas Morera has been named the world's oldest person by Guinness World Records (GWR), following the death of French nun Sister André earlier this month aged 118.
US-born Maria Branyas Morera has been named the world’s oldest person by Guinness World Records (GWR), following the death of French nun Sister André earlier this month aged 118. (CNN)

The Gerontology Research Group, which validates details of people thought to be 110 or older, listed Branyas as the oldest known person in the world after the death of French nun Lucile Randon last year.

The next oldest person listed by the Gerontology Research Group is now Japan’s Tomiko Itooka, who is 116 years old.

Branyas was born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907. After living for some years in New Orleans, where her father founded a magazine, her family returned to Spain when she was young.

Branyas said that she had memories of crossing the Atlantic Ocean during World War I.

Her X account is called “Super Catalan Grandma” and bears the description: “I am old, very old, but not an idiot.”

At age 113, Branyas tested positive for COVID-19 during the global pandemic but avoided developing severe symptoms that claimed tens of thousands of older Spaniards.

At the time of her death she was living in a nursing home in Catalan town of Olot.

Her family wrote that Branyas told them days before her death: “I don’t know when, but very soon this long journey will come to an end.

“Death will find me worn down from having lived so much, but I want to meet it with a smile, feeling free and satisfied,” they quoted her as saying.

You May Also Like

The Left Doesn't Care About Latin American Children. Here's Actual Proof.

I feel like I’ve said this a thousand times, but the…

Hochul, NY lawmakers reach agreement on mask-wearing criminals

The New York state budget deal includes a new law that would…

Election Paloozers Edition: Austrians in Vienna Yesterday and Canadians Today

This is going to be a quick little sprint through exercises…

Shocking moment Brit tourists brawl with Thai locals in vicious road rage row as women desperately try to intervene

Two British tourists have been fined after brawling with Thai locals in…