James Haupt, who is studying communications at Villanova, is spending the semester in Italy for an internship opportunity at the Vatican.
Haupt said St. Peter's Square in Vatican City is currently filled with crowds of people waiting to pay their respects to the pontiff.
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"It's very packed right now, very hectic and very somber at the same time," he explained.
The aspiring journalist is interning for an online publication called "Rome Reports," an international TV news agency based in Rome that covers the pope and the Vatican.
Haupt was able to write a story about Pope Francis on Wednesday. He said he considers it an honor to contribute to the news coverage.
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"Of course I want to be a part of history, especially as a journalist," he said.
Back here at home, at Neumann University in Delaware County, faculty members said some students are still processing the news of the pope's passing.
"A number of them today in class were reflecting on what a great pope he was, and what a great impact he has had on their lives, on their world views, on their faith perspectives," said John Kruse, a professor of theology at Neumann University.
Neumann is one of 22 Franciscan universities and colleges in the United States.
Sister Pat Hutchison, the director of the Neumann Institute for Franciscan Studies, said when the pope chose the name Francis, in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, it was a big deal on their small campus.
"To have a patron of a university who has a different way of living, and then a pope that is contemporary, who shows a different way of living, I think it's extremely important," she explained.
For more than a decade now, Sister Hutchison said Neumann has integrated the writings of Pope Francis into their curriculum.
Quron White, a Neumann senior who is graduating in May, told Action News that Pope Francis shaped his college career.
"I did my paper and presentation for my honors program on Fratelli Tutti, and that's one of his encyclicals," White said. "Everyone knows who Pope Francis is here."