Network Plans For The Beatification Of John Paul II

While the U.S. networks have big plans for next Friday’s royal wedding (or hadn’t you heard), a mere 48 hours and 1,100 miles away in Vatican City another big event will unfold: the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Beatification is the first step to Sainthood.

•FNC will carry the Beatification Mass beginning at 4amET Sunday, May 1. Jamie Colby and Eric Shawn will anchor the Mass from New York while religion correspondent Lauren Green will report from Vatican City. Rome-based correspondent Greg Burke will report and FNC analyst Father Jonathan Morris makes a return to Rome to contribute.

•MSNBC’s Chris Jansing who will be covering the royal wedding, travels from London to Rome Saturday morning and will begin appearing on MSNBC Saturday. Jansing will anchor live coverage of the Beatification Mass beginning at 4amET. She’ll be joined NBC’s Vatican analyst and author George Weigel and Vatican Art Historian Liz Lev. Jansing covered the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Benedict XVI in 2005.

•CNN/U.S. and CNNI will broadcast the Mass Sunday with Jon Mann anchoring. Jim Bitterman will be the correspondent at the Vatican and author John Allen will provide analysis. CNN en Espanol will cover with Jose Levy.

•ABC’s David Wright is the correspondent for TV and other platforms. ABCNews.com will live stream the Mass with ABC News San Francisco-based producer Ariane Nalty reporting. (Interesting note: Nalty’s brother is Monsignor Christopher Nalty who worked at the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy. Ariane’s father-in-law is Charles Zewe a former correspondent for CNN).

•NBC’s Anne Thompson and CBS’s Allen Pizzey will report for their networks.