World's Oldest Man Goes Viral on Instagram — With a Rosary in His Hands

'[H]e wishes to be remembered as a hardworking man, faithful to his wife and persevering in his deep religious devotion as a Catholic.' An inspiration!

From Aleteia

By Francisco Veneto

A photo of the world’s oldest man with the rosary in his hands is moving the hearts of people around the world—Catholics in particular, of course, inspired by the testimony of faith of Venezuelan farmer Juan Vicente Pérez, who turned 113 on May 27.

The image of the elderly man holding his rosary appears in a video released by Guinness World Records, which recognized Juan Vicente as the current world’s oldest man on May 17.

Family and faith

On its website, the popular Book of Records adds that the world’s oldest man “has exceptional health and memory. He remembers his childhood, marriage, the name of his siblings, children and grandchildren. He loves to be surrounded by family and friends as they tell stories and engage in good conversation.”

And the family is large. Widower Juan Vicente Pérez, who lost his wife Ediofina del Rosario García in 1997 after 60 years of marriage, has 11 children, 41 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren.

Guinness offers details of the record-holder’s biography. Born in the Venezuelan city of El Cobre, in the state of Táchira, he started working when he was only 5 years old, helping his parents on the sugar cane and coffee plantations. As an adult, he became a sheriff and had to deal with delicate land dispute cases, without, however, allowing the stress to damage his health. In fact, one of the daughters of the world’s oldest man, Nelyda, testifies that the family is very grateful for the centenarian’s stamina.

The world’s oldest man declares that he wants to live even longer. He adds that when he departs this life, he wishes to be remembered as a hardworking man, faithful to his wife and persevering in his deep religious devotion as a Catholic.

In fact, according to Guinness, the ingredients in Juan Vicente’s recipe for a long life include faith, family, hard work, a good night’s sleep, and a daily drink—of aguardiente in his case, and of wine in the case of the world’s oldest woman, a French nun.

It seems that the recipe is a good one.