ABC News Debuts Pope Francis Special

ABC News’ hour-long special Celebrating Francis: The People’s Pope has premiered on ABC-owned TV stations, ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.

The special delves into the legacy of Pope Francis, documenting his life from childhood to young priesthood through to his papacy as the first-ever pope from Latin America. It complements ABC News’ ongoing coverage of his funerary events.

The special complements ABC News’ coverage of his funerary events, as ABC News will present special coverage of his resting in state, the viewing in St. Peter’s Basilica and his funeral mass. World News Tonight’s David Muir and 20/20’s Deborah Roberts, among others, will be at the Vatican.

Additional journalists attending are chief international correspondent James Longman, senior national correspondent Terry Moran, foreign correspondent Maggie Rulli, reporter Ines de La Cuetara, WABC-TV’s Eyewitness News anchor Mike Marza, KABC-TV’s Eyewitness News anchor David Ono and contributors Father James Martin, Father John Wauck and Helen Alvaré.

ABC News Group will provide ongoing programming throughout the week on all ABC News programs and platforms. IN addition to its live reports from Vatican City, ABC-owned television stations will focus on local communities commemorating and celebrating the late Pope throughout the week.

A special half-hour feature titled Francis: The People’s Pope will capture the most impactful stories from across each market. It is set to debut on April 25, ahead of Saturday’s coverage of the funeral services.

ABC News has been covering the passing of Pope Francis since Monday, April 21. It was one of the first networks to break into a special report at 4 a.m. EDT on Good Morning America First Look and ABC News Live, anchored by Andrew Dymburt and Alison Kosik. At 5:49 a.m. EDT, “Good Morning America” co-anchor George Stephanopoulos led special reports across ABC News and ABC News Live. ABC News Live took over at 6:33 a.m. EDT, anchored by Diane Macedo. ABC News Live stayed in rolling coverage all day Monday.