Gayle King "felt something" in the presence of Pope Leo

She told People magazine: "You're sitting in the front row, and Pope Leo goes by in the popemobile! We are like, 'Chicago, Chicago!'

"You just felt something being in his presence. You really did.

"We were excited to be there to witness history."

Gayle has been involved in another historic moment really as she was part of an all-female crew that blasted off to space on a Blue Origin flight.

But the broadcaster - who was joined on the trip by pop star Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos' fiancee Lauren Sanchez, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn - recently admitted she "disappointed and saddened" by critics, who had branded the 11-minute flight "frivolous".

Speaking on 'CBS Mornings', she said: "Space is not an either or, it's a both and, and because you do something in space doesn't mean you're taking anything away from Earth. And what you're doing in space is trying to make things better here on Earth.

"What Blue Origin wants to do is take the waste here and figure out a way to put it in space to make our planet cleaner. Jeff Bezos has so many ideas, and the people that are working there are really devoted and dedicated to making our planet a better place. That's number one.

"There was nothing frivolous about what we do.

"So, you know, I'm very disappointed and very saddened by it [the criticism]. And I also say this - what it's doing to inspire other women and young girls? Please don't ignore that. I've had so many women and young girls reach out to me, and men too, by the way. Men too that say, 'Wow, I never thought I could do that, but I see you doing it at this stage of your life.' "