It has known twenty presidents, three republics and ten popes. This Friday, in Toulon, surrounded by the mayor of the commune Hubert Falco, Sister André will celebrate her 118th birthday. To celebrate the oldest living woman in Europe, known in the civil registry as Lucile Randon, the Sainte-Catherine Labouré nursing home in which she has lived for ten years is preparing a small party, without fuss… And, this time, without a journalist. “She told us that she was tired of forcing herself to smile,” says David Tavella, communications manager for the nursing home. She wants to have a peaceful birthday. “And there is no question of contradicting the supercentenarian whom he describes as” a woman with a very strong character, who knows what she wants and who says things very frankly. »
On the program, no giant cake adorned with 118 candles, but the cute sins of Sister André: port and chocolate. Small pleasures which she has been able to abuse somewhat since she became dean of Europe, and above all, since she miraculously survived the Covid last year. The news went around the world in a few days. “We received almost every day chocolate, books and bags full of letters from all over the world for her,” says David Tavella. For a month, I did just that: answer the mail and describe to him each drawing that had been sent to him. »
At 100, Sister André pushed other people’s chairs
Sister André indeed lost her sight and part of her hearing. Above all, she has been in a wheelchair for a few years, which she experiences quite badly. “In her previous nursing home, she pushed other people’s chairs, even at 100 years old, marvels David Tavella. There, the fact of having to be helped is unbearable to him. She wishes to remain dignified in all circumstances. »
The scars also of a life that Sister André devoted to others, first in the service of orphans and the elderly at the hospital in Vichy, then in a hospital in the Drôme, during night shifts. “When she learns about the world, the distress of children touches her a lot, launches David Tavella. Having experienced two world wars, she finds today’s world very worrying. »
A glass of red wine every lunchtime
This longevity also questions and arouses the curiosity of scientists. “We were approached by doctors who wanted to do studies on it,” says David Tavella. But she doesn’t want to participate in this. She doesn’t want anyone to take an interest in her genealogy. She recalls that she had a twin sister who died very young…”
Far from the tumult around her, Sister André continues to drink a glass of red wine every lunchtime and a glass of sparkling water every evening. And as a pious woman, the supercentenarian claims to await death without fear. “She says she’s had enough of it all, but she has unwavering faith and remains very calm about this issue,” notes David Tavella. And at the same time, when she talks about Jeanne Calment, she says that she would like to break the record, because for her, Jeanne Calment, it’s a pipe! The Arlesian officially died on August 4, 1997 at the age of 122, becoming the longest-lived human being among people whose date of birth has been verified.