On receiving the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, Anjezë Bojaxhiu, known to the world as Mother Teresa, said only: "I am not worthy." This quote was typical of the Albanian nun, who achieved international fame in part for saying inspirational words on a variety of topics.Continue Reading
During an interview in 1974, Mother Teresa told a reporter, "I see God in every human being." This saying was widely quoted at the time, and it came to define how many people saw Mother Teresa and her work among the poor. The international attention paid to Mother Teresa gave her a very public platform to speak on a variety of topics. Regarding the 1991 Gulf War, she wrote to President Bush and Saddam Hussein simultaneously: "Please choose the way of peace." On the occasion of the Beijing Women's Conference in 1995, Mother Teresa published an open letter in which she declared: "God has created each one of us, every human being, for greater things; to love and to be loved."
In 1989, at age 78, Mother Theresa announced her retirement from the order she had founded. In her statement, she explained: "God will find another person, more humble, more devoted, more obedient to him, and the society will go on." Members of Mother Teresa's order eventually prevailed on her to withdraw her resignation.Learn more about Education