PARIS (AP) – Question: How do you stuff enough candles on a birthday cake for one of the world’s oldest survivors of COVID-19? Answer: this is not possible with 117 candles.
A French nun believed to be the second oldest person in the world celebrated her 117th birthday in style on Thursday, with multiple treats and congratulations, cards and flowers to celebrate her exceptional longevity during two world wars and a recent coronavirus infection.
Sister André also had a mass in her honor and a banquet with champagne, red wine and port. A nap followed, followed by more festivities, including an afternoon snack of baked Alaska, her favorite dessert.
“It made me very, very, very happy,” said the birthday boy. ‘Because I’ve met all the ones I love and I thank Heaven for giving them to me. I thank God for the trouble they have caused. ”
Sister André’s big day began with a morning video call with her grand-nephews and enchantments, followed by a Mass in her honor led by the local Catholic bishop, said David Tavella, communications manager for the nursing home in the South. French city of Toulon where the nun lives.
Her birthday party consisted of a foie gras starter, followed by capon with fragrant mushrooms. ‘Everything is washed down with red wine, because she drinks red wine. It’s one of her secrets to a long life, ”Tavella told The Associated Press. There was also port and champagne “because it has to be roasted for 117 years,” he said.
She skipped dessert because she was tired, but was later served it after a nap — with three candles and the numbers 117 above.
Packing up on 117 candles would have been impossible.
“We stopped trying a long time ago,” Tavella said. Even if we made big cakes, I’m not sure she’d have enough breath to blow them all out. You need a fire extinguisher. “
Sister André’s birth name is Lucile Randon. The Gerontology Research Group, which validates data from people believed to be 110 or older, names her the second oldest known living person in the world, behind only a 118-year-old woman in Japan, Kane Tanaka.
Tavella told French media earlier this week that Sister André tested positive for the coronavirus in mid-January, but that she had so few symptoms that she did not even realize she was infected. Her survival made headlines both in France and abroad.
“When the whole world suddenly started talking about this story, I understood that Sister André was a bit like an Olympic flame on a ’round the world tour’ that people want to grab because we all need a little hope right now. , ‘Said Tavella.
When Tavella spoke to her on Thursday about celebrating her next birthday in 2022, she replied, “I won’t be here next year,” he quoted her, adding, “But she’s been saying that for 10 years.”
By a strange coincidence, Tavella celebrated its 43rd birthday on Thursday.
“We often joke that she and I were born on the same day,” he said. “I never tell myself she’s 117 because she’s so easy to talk to, regardless of age. It’s only when she talks about World War I as if she lived it, that I realize, “Yes, she lived it!” ”
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Leicester reported from Le Pecq, France