"One discovers the common values of every culture, capable of uniting and not dividing." Minutes after his election as Pope, speaking to the crowd about his not-so-good Italian: "Se mi sbaglio mi corrigerete" ("if I'm wrong you will 'corrected' me" - "corrigerete" is wrong in Italian). This got a huge applause. "Believe. Do not be afraid to believe." (His first words after being elected Pope). "Stupidity is also a gift from God, but it should not be abused." "A nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope." And what I can say in the end? I am sorry to leave. (The sentence spontaneously added to his speech at the Balice Airport, Kraków on August 19, 2002 when he was about to finish his very last pilgrimage to Poland.) "I would like to add that this same song of the "Oasis" accompanied me 23 years ago outside of the homeland. I could hear it in my ears when I heard the verdict of the conclave. I have not forgotten this song of the "Oasis" all these years. It was like some kind of a hidden breath of the homeland. It was my guide on the variety of paths of the Church. It was this song that often led me spiritually here, to Blonie of Kraków, to the foot of the Kosciuszko Hill. I thank you, song of the "Oasis". I thank you Blonie of Kraków for the hospitality you have shown so many times, especially today. May God reward you. And I would like to add: See you again. But this is completely in God's hands. I entrust this entirely to the mercy of God." (After more than two million people had sung his favorite song titled "Barka" at the end of the Holy Mass in Blonie Park, Kraków, on August 18 2002.) "When I first visited this shrine in 1979, I asked you to pray for me, while I am alive and after my death. Today I thank you and all the pilgrims of Kalwaria for these prayers, for the spiritual support I continually receive. I continue to ask you: do not stop praying - once again I repeat it - as long as I am alive and after my death." (At the end of the Holy Mass in the shrine of Our Lady of Kalwaria, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, August 19, 2002, few hours before the departure for Rome that ended his very last journey to Poland) "You are our dearly beloved brothers, and in a certain way it could be said that you are our elder brother." (Addressing Jews during his historic visit to Rome's synagogue in 1986) "I am a young person aged 83." (Speaking to Spanish youths in Madrid, May 2003) "The Pope cannot remain a prisoner of the Vatican. I want to go to everybody...from the nomads of the steppes to the monks and nuns in their convents...I want to cross the threshold of every home." "No to war! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity." (To diplomats on January 13, 2003, as the Iraq war loomed) "Physical condition or advancing of age are not obstacles to a perfect life. God does not look at external things but at the soul." (On his 83rd birthday, May 18, 2003) "It is not easy to love with a deep love, which lies in the authentic gift of self. This love can only be learned by penetrating the mystery of God's love. Looking at him, being one with his fatherly heart, we are able to look with new eyes at our brothers and sisters, with an attitude of unselfishness and solidarity, of generosity and forgiveness. All this is mercy!" (Homily during the Holy Mass in St. Peter's Square for the Canonization of Sister Mary Faustina Kowalska, Rome, April 30, 2000)