World’s oldest woman Maria Branyas Morera turns 117
Maria Branyas Morera's remarkable journey spans over a century, filled with resilience, and a zest for life
READING LEVEL: GREEN
The world’s oldest living person Maria Branyas Morera has turned 117.
Maria was born on March 4, 1907 in San Francisco, before she moved to Spain’s Catalonia when she was eight.
She has been in the same nursing home for the past 23 years.
Maria scooped the incredible title of the world’s oldest living person after French nun Lucile Randon died aged 118 in January last year.
Interestingly, Maria is quite active on X, formerly Twitter, and posts regularly with the help of other people.
She wrote a post today saying: “Good morning, world. Today I turn 117 years old. I’ve come this far.”
The staff of the nursing home says Maria has been doing incredibly well with her health – and has no physical or mental problems beyond hearing difficulties and mobility issues*.
Maria’s exceptional* health at such an age has forced scientists to study her body.
Scientist Manel Esteller told Spanish outlet ABC: “She has a completely lucid* head.
She remembers with impressive clarity events from when she was only four years old, and she does not present any cardiovascular disease*, common in elderly people.
“It is clear that there is a genetic* component* because there are several members of her family who are over 90 years old.”
Maria has agreed to undergo scientific testing by researchers who hope to gain an insight* into the secrets to long life.
Researchers have collected samples of Maria’s saliva, blood and urine and will compare them with those of her 80-year-old daughter.
Scientists hope that studying Maria’s genes will help with the development of drugs which could combat diseases associated with ageing.
Maria has lived through the 1918 pandemic*, the two World Wars and Spain’s civil war.
She got married in 1931 to a Catalan doctor named Joan Moret, with whom she had three children.
While her husband passed away in 1976, Maria has outlived* their only son, August, who died in a tragic tractor accident at the age of 86.
She now has two daughters, 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Maria played the piano from when she was a child to the age of 108 years old when she lost the nimbleness* in her fingers.
Brave Maria also survived Covid-19, which she contracted* only a few weeks after turning 113.
After spending time in the hospital, she made a full recovery within days and was back to living her normal life in the nursing home.
She also scooped the title of the world’s oldest Covid survivor title in 2020, but it was later won by Lucile Randon, who was three years older than Maria.
Maria is now the 12th oldest verified* person in history – and will climb to take the fifth spot if she reaches her 118th birthday next year.
The oldest person ever was Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who lived to the age of 122 years and 164 days.
GLOSSARY
- mobility issues: difficulties or challenges related to moving or walking
- exceptional: unusually good or outstanding
- lucid: means clear and easily understood
- genetic: relating to genes or heredity, the units of biological information inherited from parents
- component: a part or element of something larger
- cardiovascular disease: medical conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels
- insight: a deep understanding or perception of a complex issue
- pandemic: a widespread outbreak of a disease that affects a large geographic area
- outlived: lived longer than someone else
- nimbleness: the ability to move quickly and easily
- contracted: became infected with a disease
- verified: confirmed or proven to be true or accurate
EXTRA READING
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Oldest living land animal turns 190
Australia’s oldest man turns 110
QUICK QUIZ
- How old is Maria Branyas Morera?
- Where was Maria born?
- What health challenges has Maria faced in her old age?
- How many children does Maria have?
- What remarkable event did Maria survive after turning 113?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITY
1. What would you ask Maria?
If you could interview Maria about her life, what would you ask her?
Write at least five questions for her. Then, write the answers that you think she might give you. Use your research skills to help you if you need it.
Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education, History, Personal and Social Capability
2. Extension
What do you think everyday life for everyone will be like when you are 117 years old? Write a diary entry for a typical day in that year.
Time: allow at least 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
VCOP ACTIVITY
Opener up-level it
Make a list of all the openers in the article. Pick three that repeat and see if you can replace them with another word, or shuffle the order of the sentence to bring a new opener to the front.
Don’t forget to re-read the sentence to make sure it still makes sense, and that it actually sounds better.