Maria Banyas, 115, is now the oldest person in the world.

After 118-year-old French nun recently passes away

After French nun Lucile Randon recently passed away at age 118, 115-year-old Maria Banyas is now dubbed as the world’s oldest person. Banyas was born in San Francisco on Mar. 4, 1907; She moved to Catalonia, Spain, with her family in 2015. The family opted to return to Spain following Maria’s father’s death following a tuberculosis infection. [i]

Maria married at the early age of 23 and had three children, 11 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren. During her lifetime, Maria has seen her parents’ deaths, three siblings, one of her three children, and her husband, who passed away at age 72. [ii]

In Dec. 2019, Maria became the oldest person in Spain. When interviewed, Maria shared that one of her fondest memories was watching TV for the first time on Dec. 15, 1960, as King Baudouin of Belgium married Fabiola de Mora and Aragon, a Spanish aristocrat. Maria also recalls “very bad memories” of the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War. She says,

People live differently now to how they used to. Money dominates everything and with money you can get almost everything. [iii]

In May 2020, Maria was diagnosed with Covid. Astonishingly, Maria pulled through without any serious complications. After surviving the sometimes-fatal infection, Maria became the oldest person recorded to have recovered from the virus. [iv]

Although she currently lives in an assisted-living retirement home, Maria astonishingly read the newspaper, played the piano, and exercised every morning like clockwork until she was 105. Even though it has become increasingly difficult for Maria to leave her room, she can still walk a little. Maria shares that what frightens her the most is the recent loss of much of her hearing & sight. Despite that, she maintains that she is still in excellent health for her age. [v]

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References

[i] Wikipedia, Maria Branyas (2023)

[ii] Id.

[iii] William, US-Born 115-Year-Old Spaniard(Jan. 18, 2023)

[iv] La Vanguardia, Maria Branyas, the oldest person in Spain with 113 years, overcomes the coronavirus (Nov. 5, 2020)

[v] William, US-Born 115-Year-Old Spaniard (Jan. 18, 2023)

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[Article Note: This piece was originally published on NewsBreak and has been archived and transferred to DOPE Quick Reads to preserve its informational value. Original publication date: 2023-01-20]