Maria Branyas, the centenarian considered the longest-living person in the world , who resides in a retirement home in Olot, in the province of Girona, Catalonia , turned 117 today .

His family announced the news in a message on his X account: «Good morning world. Today I turn 117 years old. I've come this far", is the message posted . Accompanied by a quote from the missionary Pere Casaldàliga: «Old age is a kind of sacrament. You lose your hearing but you hear better because you listen to life, not noises. In the light of death, life acquires a more definitive specific weight."

Among the greetings received from all over the world, those from the President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragones, again on X: «The oldest person in the world lives in Olot and today he turns 117. A privilege to have her with us."

Maria Braynas, who is in good physical condition, was born in San Fransisco, USA, on March 4, 1907 . She returned as a child with her family to Catalonia in 1915. During her long life, she went through two pandemics - the Spanish one and the Covid-19 one - the Civil War, the post-war period, Francoism and over 40 years of democracy.

Since he turned 92 he has lived in the Santa Maria del Tura retirement home in Olot and since 2023 he has been the longest-living person in the world.

Due to mobility problems he is in a wheelchair, but his health is good . For this reason it has become a case study: its genome was collected and studied by the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, in research conducted by Manel Esteller, to understand the mechanisms of aging of the body associated with diseases such as cancer or dementia and design future drugs.

(Unioneonline/vl)