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 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 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 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.