CBS To Air John Paul II Miniseries

After screening it for Pope Benedict XVI, CBS will air its miniseries on the life of Pope John Paul II on Dec. 4 and 7, the network said Wednesday.

The four-hour "Pope John Paul II" features two actors portraying the pope, whose 26-year reign ended with his death April 2. Cary Elwes portrays Karol Wojtyla in his young adult years, and Jon Voight takes over the role after Wojtyla becomes pope.

CBS said it has arranged a world premiere screening of the movie for Nov. 17 at the Vatican, where the current pope is expected to attend. He's briefly depicted in the movie as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger; actor Mikolaj Grabowski portrays him.

The movie depicts John Paul's spiritual journey as a youth in Poland to his papacy, the 1981 assassination attempt and his world travels.