Mourners are expected to gather for Pope Francis’s funeral at St. Peter’s Square on Saturday, following his death on Monday at the age of 88.
The Vatican says the ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. local time, which is 4 a.m. ET. That means Canadians will need to set their alarms extra early to catch it live.
The funeral for the first Latin American pontiff is expected to bring international leaders along with cardinals, archbishops and priests from across the globe to the Vatican.
Gov. Gen. Mary Simon will represent Canada at the ceremony, as Prime Minister Mark Carney campaigns in the final leg of the federal election.
From national broadcasts to online streams, here’s a selection of the outlets where Canadians can follow the historic moment in real time.
CBC NEWS – FRANCIS: A POPE’S FUNERAL
CBC News Network anchor Heather Hiscox will host live from St. Peter’s Square, where people from around the world will say goodbye to a pope who CBC says led the Catholic Church “while consistently challenging convention and defying expectations.”
Starts at 3 a.m. ET on CBC TV, CBC News Network, CBC GEM and across CBC News’ digital, streaming and social channels
CTV News chief anchor and senior editor Omar Sachedina will lead live coverage of the funeral, with added analysis from Canadian academic Dr. Michael Higgins, who wrote last year’s “The Jesuit Disruptor: a Personal Portrait of Pope Francis.”
The special will also feature on-site reporting in Vatican City from CTV National News correspondent Genevieve Beauchemin alongside Gerard O’Connell, who is the Vatican correspondent for America Magazine.
Starts at 3:30 am ET on CTV, CTV News Channel, CP24, CTV.ca, CTVNews.ca and the CTV and CTV News apps.
Rogers Communications will carry the proceedings on its streaming news channel, CityNews 24/7, with its reporters covering the funeral as part of CityNews’s regular news coverage throughout the day.
Starts at 4 a.m. ET on CityNews 24/7, available on Rogers Xfinity, Amazon Prime Video and online on CityNews’ website
ABC NEWS – CELEBRATING FRANCIS: THE PEOPLE’S POPE
“World News Tonight” anchor David Muir will lead ABC news’ special coverage from the Vatican, joined by “20/20” co-anchor Deborah Roberts, chief international correspondent James Longman, senior national correspondent Terry Moran, foreign correspondent Maggie Rulli and reporter Ines de La Cuetara.
Starts at 3 a.m. ET on ABC
NBC says it will broadcast Pope Francis’s funeral live on the same channel you usually tune in to watch regularly scheduled NBC programming.
Starts at 4 a.m. ET on NBC
VATICAN NEWS CHANNEL LIVESTREAM
Vatican News, the official multimedia outlet of the Holy See, will livestream coverage of Pope Francis’s funeral and related events, on its official YouTube channel. The coverage will be available in English, Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese and German.
Starts at 4 a.m. ET on Vatican News’ YouTube channel
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2025.
