In Her Own Words
On poverty
"I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?" -- 1974 interview.
"When I see waste here, I feel angry on the inside. I don't approve of myself getting angry. But it's something you can't help after seeing Ethiopia." -- Washington 1984.
On the Nobel Peace Prize
"I choose the poverty of our poor people. But I am grateful to receive (the Nobel) in the name of the hungry, the naked, the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the lepers, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared-for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." -- Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, 1979.
On retirement
"God will find another person, more humble, more devoted, more obedient to him, and the society will go on." -- Calcutta 1989, after announcing her intention to retire.
"I was expecting to be free, but God has his own plans." -- Calcutta 1990, when the sisters of her order persuaded her to withdraw her resignation.
On war
"I have never been in a war before, but I have seen famine and death. I was asking (myself), 'What do they feel when they do this?' I don't understand it. They are all children of God. Why do they do it? I don't understand." -- Beirut 1982, during fighting between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerrillas.
"Please choose the way of peace. ... In the short term there may be winners and losers in this war that we all dread. But that never can, nor never will justify the suffering, pain and loss of life your weapons will cause." -- Letter to U.S. President George Bush and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, January 1991.
On abortion
Abortion "is murder in the womb ... A child is a gift of God. If you do not want him, give him to me."
On her life's work
"The other day I dreamed that I was at the gates of heaven. And St. Peter said, 'Go back to Earth. There are no slums up here.'" -- Quoted as telling Prince Michael of Greece in 1996.
