SAVANNAH, Ga. () — Locals and visitors paid their respects with prayers inside of the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist to honor Pope Francis.

spoke with several individuals exiting mass Monday morning.

“We were sad, but he had lived a great life, and he had served as a pope in a great way,” Richard Potter said.

Helen Willoughby agreed that it was quite a shock to wake up to the news.

“I was very surprised this morning when I saw it on the news, considering that he spoke at the Vatican yesterday,” she said.

While many are sad about the news, many Catholics stand strong on the legacy the pope will leave behind.

“I think he very much wanted his papacy to be characterized by a love for the poor, by showing forth the humility of the church and trying to be an example of that in his own life,” Father Drew Larkin, Parochial Vicar at Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist said.

Kyle Wyborski told News 3 he was known for being a role model for all.

“He put a lot of emphasis just on love and mercy and compassion towards other people,” Wyborski said. “I think that he was a very gentle figure, and I think especially for people kind of outside the church or maybe who didn’t necessarily know a lot about the Catholic faith.”

Father Larkin told there is a certain beauty in when he passed.

“There’s a beauty that it’s still easter during the Octave of Easter that Pope Francis dies,” he said. “Obviously Easter is a celebration of the resurrection, the cries of victory over death. There is a beauty, and I think there’s a providence that’s Providence’s is somehow within this would be during the Easter.”

Several people we spoke with are looking ahead to a pope that will bring strong unity among people and churches.

“So much of religion has become entwined with political because of the moral issues,” Sally Kennedy said. “But, if the holy spirit will give us a unifying pope, one who loves the truth speaks the truth with love and charity, and also gets out there with the people, as all of our last several popes have done, I think that would be wonderful.”

“We look forward to someone who’s going to bring about a stronger unity, that they’re going to be someone again, that the holy spirit is allowing the holy spirit to kind,” Father Larkin said.

There will be a mass on Tuesday for pope Francis starting at 6 p.m. at Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist.