NEW YORK (OSV News) — A portion of a new interview with Pope Francis will air tonight on the “CBS Evening News” at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, according to a release from the CBS News Communications office.
Norah O’Donnell, anchor of the nightly news show since July 2019, conducted the pre-recorded interview, which will air during a special edition of the broadcast overlooking the Vatican, the release stated.
The interview takes place ahead of the Vatican’s first World Children’s Day, scheduled for May 25-26.
In a letter released March 2 marking the upcoming day, Pope Francis told children that they are “a source of joy for your parents and your families, but also for our human family and for the Church, in which each of us is like a link in a great chain stretching from the past to the future and covering the whole earth.”
The letter also included an invitation for the youngsters to participate in the first World Children’s Day meeting in Rome May 25-26. At a news conference after the letter was published, organizers said 57,000 children from 60 countries already had signed up and they hoped 100,000 children ages 6-12 would attend the opening event at Rome’s Olympic Stadium and Mass with Pope Francis the next day in St. Peter’s Square.
The CBS interview marks the first time a pope has given an in-depth, one-on-one interview to a U.S. broadcast network, according to the network. An extended version of the interview will air May 19 on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” followed by an hourlong primetime special May 20 at 10 p.m. Eastern on the network and streaming on Paramount+. CBS News and Stations also will carry the interview across platforms.