Mother Teresa Brings Message of Peace and Hope During Visit to San Quentin

Mother Teresa, who won the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize for her work among the poor, starving and dying of Calcutta, brought a message of peace and hope Friday to San Quentin Prison.

The 76-year-old Roman Catholic nun, clutching white rosary beads and dressed in white saris and a wool sweater, briefly visited with about 30 inmates and a group of guards, prison employees and reporters in the prison chapel.

She pleaded with the inmates to know Jesus and to pray.

“A prayer will give you a clean heart,” she said, “and a clean heart can see God, and if you see God in each other, naturally you will love one another as God loves each one of you.

“Help each other,” she continued, “and any bitterness or anything that is in the heart, get rid of it. I will pray for you especially.”

The diminutive nun handed out religious medals before embarking on a visit to the prison’s inner cellblocks.

Reporters were not allowed to accompany Mother Teresa on her visit to the tough inner cellblocks housing some of the state’s most violent criminals, including those on Death Row.

Three other nuns from the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order which Mother Teresa founded, joined her on a weeklong visit to the San Francisco Bay Area. Several nuns from the order work within San Quentin.