Gracieuse Malharin

Gracieuse Malharin [French: Grâcieuse] (5 January 1907 – 13 February 2017) was a French supercentenarian whose age is currently unvalidated by the Gerontology Research Group (GRG). She was one of the oldest known people in France when she died.

Biography
Gracieuse Malharin was born on 5 January 1907 in Orsanco, Pyrenees-Atlantiques, France as one of 12 children born to her parents, who were farmers. In 1925, she entered the convent of the Dominicans of Mauleon-Lifharre. After two years of being a noviciate, she took her vows in April 1927, which made her an official nun. Three of her siblings also became nuns.

Gracieuse’s religious name was Soeur Marie-Bernardette, which she chose when she was 20. In the convent, she would take care of the infirmary, the garden, the kitchen and the laundry. In 1973, the convent was forced to close. Gracieuse moved to the convent of Saint-Dominique in Dax, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, where she would live for the rest of her life.

From 1936 to 1975, Gracieuse was a teacher. From 1949 to 1963, she directed Notre-Dame-du-Bretonnais in Cholet, Maine-et-Loire, France. At the time of her 110th birthday, she had been a nun for 89 years, which was one of the longest durations in France that anyone has been a nun for.

Gracieuse Malharin passed away on 13 February 2017 in Dax, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, at the age of 110 years, 39 days. She was one of the oldest known nuns in the world at the time of her death.