The funeral of Pope Francis will be a momentous occasion in the television news world, and outlets like ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and Fox News have plotted their coverage plans.
Pope Francis’ funeral will mark just the fifth time in the last 50 years that a Pontiff will be laid to rest.
Despite the proceedings taking place in the early morning hours, in addition to being on a weekend, the event will still be widely covered in the television news world.
Fox News
Beginning at 3 AM ET on Saturday morning, Martha MacCallum will anchor coverage of the event for Fox News.
Included in the coverage will be chief religion correspondent Lauren Green, contributor Jonathan Morris, and correspondents Alex Hogan and Connor Hansen.
MacCallum will helm the network’s coverage before, during, and after the official beginning of the funeral mass for Pope Francis, which is scheduled to begin at 4 AM ET from St. Peter’s Square. Coverage will continue until 7 AM ET.
In addition to airing on Fox News, the coverage anchored by MacCallum will also be available on the FOX Nation streaming platform.
ABC News
ABC News will begin its coverage at 3:30 AM ET. World News Tonight anchor David Muir will lead the network’s coverage of the event.
He’ll be joined by 20/20 anchor Deborah Roberts. Joining them will be chief international correspondent James Longman, senior national correspondent Terry Moran, foreign correspondent Maggie Rulli, reporter Ines de La Cuetara, as well as contributors Father Jim Martin, Father John Wauck, and Helen Alvare.
The network’s coverage is scheduled to conclude at 6:30 AM ET before a weekend edition of Good Morning America begins at 7 AM ET and will run until 9 AM ET.
ABC News says it plans ton continue to cover developments for the upcoming papal conclave and the installation of the new Pope. In accordance with Vatican traditions, the conclave is expected to begin between Sunday, May 6th and Friday, May 11th.
CNN
Like Fox News, the coverage on CNN will begin at 3 AM ET.
Anderson Cooper will anchor the network’s coverage live from Rome, where he’ll be joined by the network’s Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb and its chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward.
CNN will extend its coverage far beyond what ABC News and Fox News have announced. It will be on the air until 9 AM ET live from Rome.
CNN will feature contributions from senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman, Barbie Nadeau who will be live at the Pope’s burial site, senior national correspondent David Culver will be in the pope’s hometown, while international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson will be on location at London’s Westminster Cathederal.
Meanwhile, Vatican alanlysts Father Edward Beck and Katie Prejan McGrady will provide commentary and analysis before, during, and after the funeral of Pope Francis.
In addition to its live coverage of the event, CNN will air a special edition of CNN Newsroom — hosted by Victor Blackwell — from 10 AM to Noon ET on Saturday to highlight key moments from the funeral.
CBS News
CBS News will feature special coverage of the event beginning at 3:45 AM ET.
Norah O’Donnell and John Dickerson will helm the network’s coverage overlooking St. Peter’s Basilica.
Coverage by the network will include reports from Chris Livesay and Seth Doane. Additional insights will be shared by Vatican analyst Delia Gallagher, Father Anthony Figueiredo, and editor of Crux, John Allen.
In addition to airing live on CBS, the network’s coverage will be available on CBS News 24/7 and the Paramount+ streaming platforms, as well as on CBSNews.com and the CBS News YouTube channel.
CBS News will conclude its coverage of the funeral of Pope Francis at 7 AM ET. The network will continue coverage throughout the day, though, on shows like CBS Saturday Morning and CBS Weekend News.
Additionally, the network’s streaming home — CBS News 24/7 — will begin its coverage at 3 AM ET with a replay of O’Donnell’s interview with Pope Francis from April of last year.
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NBC News has not officially unveiled its coverage plans for the funeral of Pope Francis. However, television listings for the network show that the network plans to begin coverage at 3:55 AM ET, with Today anchor Craig Melvin leading the coverage. It appears as if the network’s coverage is scheduled to end at 6 AM ET.
Similarly, MSNBC has yet to announce publicly who will lead its coverage of the event. Television listings show it plans to provide coverage from 3:45 AM ET to 7 AM ET.
NewsNation’s Connell McShane will host live coverage of the event from 3-7 AM ET. Meanwhile, Newsmax will host its coverage from 3-8 AM ET.
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