World's oldest person Maria Branvas Morera's heart-wrenching single last word as dying wish granted

The title of the world's oldest living person has passed on as Maria Branyas Morera, aged 117, died peacefully in her slee p as her family said she wished.

Despite being admired for her exceptional mental and physical health in her very old age , Maria recently expressed in her last word that she was feeling "weak" to her followers in a poignant message on Tuesday.

Her family shared on social media: "Maria Branyas has left us. She died as she wished: in her sleep, peacefully and without pain. We will always remember her for her advice and her kindness."

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Maria spent her final years at the Santa Maria del Tursa nursing home in Olot, northeastern Spain, and had an extraordinary life that spanned a plague epidemic, two world wars, and even the Covid-19 pandemic.

She advised her followers with the touching words: "The time is near. Don't cry, I don't like tears. And above all, don't suffer for me," adding, "Wherever I go, I will be happy."

Guinness World Records had confirmed Maria as the oldest person alive in January 2023 following the death of 118 year old French nun Lucile Randon.

Following Maria's passing, Tomiko Itooka from Japan, born on May 23, 1908, now holds the record as the oldest living person at 116 years old, as per the US Gerontology Research Group.

Having lived through the 1918 flu, both World Wars, the Spanish Civil War, and overcoming Covid-19 in 2020, Maria's daughter Rosa Moret credits "genetics" for her mother's long life.

"She has never gone to the hospital, she has never broken any bones, she is fine, she has no pain," Moret shared with regional Catalan television in 2023.

Maria was born on March 4, 1907, in San Francisco shortly after her family emigrated from Mexico to the United States.

In 1915, Maria's family moved back to Spain and settled in Barcelona. Here, Maria married a doctor in 1931 and they lived happily together for four decades until her husband passed away at the age of 72.

Maria is a mother to three children, a grandmother to 11, and a great-grandmother to many.

"Her mind is completely lucid. She remembers with impressive clarity episodes from when she was only four years old, and she has no cardiovascular disease, which is common in the elderly. The only things she has are mobility and hearing problems. It's incredible," a genetics professor marveled about Maria in 2023.