The Southeast Asian nation of East Timor—one of the world’s most Catholic countries—has declared a week of national mourning for Pope Francis, CNN reports.

East Timor is the second-most Catholic country in the world, with 97% of the population identifying as Catholic, the highest share outside of the Vatican.

It hosted Pope Francis on his marathon trip through Asia last year. He received a rapturous welcome, with almost half of the country’s 1.3 million population attending his open-air Mass.

Churches in East Timor held special masses on Monday and flags will be flown at half-mast to honor the pope, whose death was described by its President Jose Ramos-Horta as a “tremendous loss for the world, not just only for Christians.”

East Timor is one of the world’s youngest countries and the Catholic Church was influential in its tumultuous and bloody fight for independence from Indonesia.

The East Timor government called the pope’s visit “a historic moment for our country.”

East Timor will also have an important role in choosing the next pope.

Cardinal Virgilio do Carmo da Silva is the country’s first cardinal after he was hand-picked by Pope Francis in 2022.

Carmo da Silva is named by the Vatican as one of 135 cardinal electors, making him the first person from East Timor to take part in a conclave, the millennia-old process of picking a new pontiff.