Following one of the holiest weeks for Catholicism, Pope Francis, the first Latin American pope, died at age 88 early Monday morning.

The news shook followers of the faith and beyond.

"We sort of knew this was coming, but it still took us all I think by surprise," Mary Segers said, a Rutgers University political science professor emeritus.

"I wasn't totally shocked, though, having seen him on television yesterday," said Father Guy Selvester, from St. Mary's South Amboy. "I thought, yeah, he definitely looked very, very close to death."

Both Segers and Selvester highlighted that during the final hours of his life, Pope Francis, was present for Easter Sunday.

"He made a brief appearance at the end of Easter Sunday Mass to give the traditional blessing, and he was in his wheelchair, of course," Father Selvester said.

For an institution that's thousands of years old, he will be remembered for his progressive stances and conversation starters, including when it came to the LGBTQ+ community.

"There was this famous moment when he was visiting some country I can't remember, maybe it was a Latin American country, and somebody asked him about the issue," Segers said. "He said, 'Who am I to judge.'"

Another group he vocalized dignity for were migrants.

"He clearly saw his papacy as he used to put it as reaching out to the people on the fringes," Father Selvester said.

Monday's news began the traditional nine-day mourning period, with the funeral needing to happen four to six days after his death at St. Peter's Square.

It could take two to three weeks for the Roman Catholic Church to get reorganized and vote in a new pope through the papal conclave. Cardinals from around the world will choose the future of the church.

"There is a papal official who is appointed to oversee the next couple of weeks," Segers said.

Pope Francis will be buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, according to Vatican News.