This pope expended most of his energy and strength in trying to convince the heads of state and governments to put down their arms and meet at a negotiating table to resolve Europe's problems peacefully. He organized charitable institutions to help refugees, deportees, prisoners, the wounded and the persecuted without regard for their political or religious beliefs. Wherever his charity could reach, pain and suffering were diminished. Upon his death, the Turkish Muslims, grateful for his charity and good works, built a monument to him in Istanbul.

 In the monument here in St. Peter's, he is portrayed in prayer, kneeling above a tomb that is supposed to symbolize the graves scattered throughout Europe to commemorate the soldiers who fell in battle and the innocent victims of the war. The tomb is delicately decorated with olive branches, symbols of peace. Above the statue is the Virgin Mary, presenting the Infant Jesus, "Prince of Peace" to a world in flames. It was Pope Benedict XV who added the words "Queen of Peace, pray for us" to the Litanies of Loreto. The monument by Pietro Canonica (1869-1959) a renowned sculptor, was unveiled in 1928.