PHILADELPHIA (AP) A pontiff who has long championed human kindness sneaking off to break bread with the homeless as an archbishop and washing the feet of young prisoners early in his papacy is coming to the City of Brotherly Love.

Pope Francis confirmed Monday that he will make his first papal visit to the United States with a trip to Philadelphia next September for the World Meeting of Families, a conference held every three years in a different city to celebrate the importance of family.Diocese of Allentown Bishop John Barres said, "This is wonderful news and a real blessing to all of us who live and work so close to Philadelphia. Pope Francis is a dynamic spiritual leader who has energized the faith of Catholics around the world. That the Holy Father will be as close to us as Philadelphia will be a moment of great grace and will benefit the Catholic Church in this Diocese, and all people of good will, in ways that will resonate well into the future. It will be a great moment of unity for the entire community."Francis' announcement, at an interreligious Vatican conference on traditional family values, ended months of lobbying and speculation. It will be the second papal visit to Philadelphia John Paul II celebrated Mass in the city in 1979 and the first papal visit to the U.S. in eight years.Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, speaking at a news conference, called it a "joyous day" and said Francis' visit would be the largest event in the city's modern history.Nutter, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, the conference's organizer, met with Francis at the Vatican and personally invited him to the city in March.Vatican officials toured the city in May and President Barack Obama, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Congress have extended invitations.Just last week, more than 10,000 Philadelphia Catholic school children sent handwritten notes encouraging the 77-year-old Francis to make the visit.The pope is also expected to visit New York and Washington, but Vatican officials Monday would not confirm those legs of the trip.The pope "wanted to guarantee his presence to the organizers of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia 2015, but for the rest I have nothing to say, no concrete information to give," Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi told reporters.