They originally had planned to be in Rome for the canonization of the first millennial saint, but pivoted to honor the pontiff.

WASHINGTON — As the world prepares for the funeral of Pope Francis, some members of the Arlington Diocese feel honored that they have the opportunity to pay their respects in person.

Originally, Alison Fram and Father Stephen Vaccaro were planning to be in Rome this weekend to celebrate the canonization, or official anointing, of the first ever millennial saint, Carlo Acutis.

When Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, those plans were postponed, but this group with the Arlington Diocese decided to make the trip anyway.

“Many hundreds of thousands of people were planning to come here for a very joyful event, this canonization of a young adult…and switched to this very somber kind of grieving,” Fram, who is the Director of Young Adult, Family and Social Action Ministries with the Nativity Catholic Church in Burke, Virginia, said. “But I think that also just shows what we all go through in life, and that faith has a role in all of those things. And that we can go to God in the good times and in the really hard times.”

Since Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of people have filed through St. Peter’s Basilica for the pope’s public viewing, including Fram and Fr. Vaccaro.

“To be able to come over and pay our respects to him as a man and to pray for him, but also to recognize that as the spiritual father of the thousands and millions and billions of Catholics in the world, it’s nice to play our little part of this bigger story,” Fr. Vaccaro, the Parochial Vicar of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Winchester, VA said.

They said they saw people waiting in line from all over the world — from Philippines, Brazil, Italy of course, and other countries in South America.

They said their tour guide estimated that 100,000 people passed through the Basilica Thursday.

Fram said she has learned so much from Pope Francis that she will carry on in her own life.

“He really invited us all to be present to the people in front of us. And I think just being here tonight with, I don’t know, thousands of people, I just find myself kind of looking around and thinking, wow, he made such an impact,” she said.

Back in D.C., the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is holding its own special mass of Thanksgiving on Saturday for Pope Francis at 4:30 p.m.

They said all are welcome, and it will take place in the Great Upper Church.