Maria Branyas Morera, age 115, is now the oldest person alive following the death of the French nun Lucile Randon —also known as Sister André — who lived to be 118-years-old. 

Morera has seen it all; she has survived two World Wars, the Spanish Civil War, two pandemics and survived catching COVID-19 in May of 2020. Guinness World Records has given her the title of the oldest person alive. On their website, a statement from Morera gives advice on how to live longer.

“Order, tranquility, good connection with family and friends, contact with nature, emotional stability, no worries, no regrets, lots of positivity and staying away from toxic people,” Morera said in her GWR statement. 

Morera was originally born in San Francisco on March 4, 1907, until her family moved to Spain eight years later. On the voyage, Morera fell from the boat’s upper deck to the lower deck. She survived the fall, but lost her hearing in one ear. Morera finished the voyage, but her father died of tuberculosis near the end of the trip.

In 1931, Morera married her husband Joan Moret and had three children with him. Morera currently has 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Morera is the oldest surviving COVID-19 survivor. In April 2020, when Morera was 113, she contracted COVID-19. Morera recovered and now has strong views on elderly treatment in the U.S.

“This pandemic has revealed that older people are the forgotten ones of our society. They fought their whole lives, sacrificed time and their dreams for today’s quality of life. They didn’t deserve to leave the world in this way,” Morera said in an interview with The Guardian.

Today, Morera is the last person in Europe that was alive in 1907, the oldest person ever born in California, the 2nd oldest person to ever live in Spain and for 22 years, she’s been living in the Residència Santa María del Tura nursing home in Girona, Spain. She still reads the newspaper every day.