BUFFALO, N.Y. — For students at Canisius High School, their recent historic trip to Rome now takes on a whole new meaning.

Students and staff were in St. Peter's Square last Sunday to watch Pope Francis deliver what would be his final Easter blessing, before passing away the next morning.

"To have him come out and give that blessing was pretty moving. I still haven't quite processed the whole thing," said Craig Hinchcliffe, a history teacher at Canisius High School.

The students were on an educational trip to Rome over spring break, and now join the rest of the school memorializing the late pope.

"This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So, it was pretty monumental for me to see the pope on Easter, just seeing him for the blessing," said Mark Jasen, a sophomore at Canisius High School.

"Really just a surreal experience. Seeing the pope, seeing the love for church and just the compassion, really I think signifies Catholicism and definitely makes me more faithful," said Greg Eberl, a sophomore.

What makes the experience more special is knowing they got to see the pope just hours before they heard he had died.

"I had to take a second to really like let that sink in, but you know, he was 88 and he lived a very amazing life and now he's in peace," said Eberl.

"I was pretty shocked by it," said Jasen. "It was unexpected but it also put me at peace a little because he was struggling a lot."

Leaders with the Diocese of Buffalo say they're inspired by the youth involvement in the church and the opportunities students had in Rome.

"Something that those students will never forget in their lifetime. He was a pope of the people, and he wanted to be with his people and that was him living authentically, and that has to inspire the young people from Buffalo that were there," said Fr. Bryan Zielenieski, vicar for renewal and development, Diocese of Buffalo.

Many of the students say they're looking forward to following the process of selecting the next pope.