The Alabama-based EWTN Global Catholic Network will air live coverage Thursday of the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, officiated by his successor, Pope Francis.

Benedict, who served as pope from 2005 to 2013, became the first pope in 600 years to resign from the post.

Benedict died on Dec. 31. He was 95.

Because of the 7-hour time difference from Rome, the live viewing time will be difficult for many hoping to watch live from Alabama.

The live broadcast of the funeral will begin at 1:30 a.m.

For live updates, check EWTN’s website, www.ewtn.com/tv/schedule; the EWTN app; and EWTN’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ewtnonline.

The live-stream can be viewed on EWTN’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. For all the ways to access EWTN, go to www.ewtn.com/everywhere.

Here’s EWTN’s planned programming schedule for Thursday, Jan. 5:

1:30 a.m. Central – Funeral Mass for the Repose of the Soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI – Pope Francis celebrates the Solemn Funeral Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, live from St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Encores at 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 8 p.m.

7 a.m. Central – Mass for the Repose of the Soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI – Live from the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels in Irondale, celebrated by the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word. Encore at 6 p.m.

8 a.m. Central – Rosary for the Repose of the Soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI – Live from the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels in Irondale, led by the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word.

10 a.m. Central – The Papacy of Reason – Interviews with Church leaders, Vatican experts, Vatican experts, and prominent Catholic journalists on the principal teaching themes of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI.

11:10 a.m. Central – Memorial Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI – From the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., celebrated by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio, in the Great Upper Church of the Basilica.

12:30 p.m. Central – Thought of Pope Benedict XVI: Who is Joseph Ratzinger? – A meditation on the life of Pope Benedict XVI with Fr. Charles Connor, Ph.D.

3:30 p.m. Central – Remembering Pope Emeritus Benedict Special from Rome – An in-depth look at the life and legacy of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

“Pope Benedict carried the torch into the 21st Century helping us understand what it meant to be a Christian,” said Bishop Steven J. Raica, head of the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, in a statement released after the former pope’s death.

The archbishop of Mobile also issued a statement praising Benedict’s legacy.

“For more than 60 years Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has had a significant role in the life of the Church,” said Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi, head of the Archdiocese of Mobile.

“Even as a young priest, his brilliant mind was widely recognized, and he was an influential voice as a theologian at the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s,” Rodi said. “He has served the people of the Church as a priest, bishop, and pope. In particular, his eight years as pope have had a major impact in the life of the Church. Most importantly, he was a man of deep faith and his obvious love of Christ showed forth in all he did. May God in his love and mercy now welcome Pope Benedict home.”