A blessing for the city

For Philadelphia's Catholic leaders, Pope Francis' announcement that he will visit the city was worthy of a Rocky dance - the one where the fictional boxer bounces on the balls of his feet, fists raised in the air, just after conquering the Art Museum steps.

Fittingly, the organizers of the Catholic Church's World Meeting of Families chose the Art Museum's Grand Hall, just a few feet from the famous steps, to relay the news. It was the culmination of months of efforts to secure the pope's attendance, including a trip to Rome by Archbishop Charles Chaput, Mayor Nutter, and Gov. Corbett. It's Pope Francis' first trip to the United States and only the second papal visit to Philadelphia; Pope John Paul II visited the city in 1979.

Nutter called the combination of the five-day conference and the pope's appearance, scheduled for September, "the largest event in the city's modern history," and he said Philadelphia is up to it. Hosting Pope Francis, whom the mayor called "one of the world's most transformative leaders," will be a test of that.

About 15,000 are expected to attend the first four days of the conference, which is making its debut in the United States after being held in Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines. It would be a major event for Philadelphia even without the pope's attendance, which is expected to swell the crowd at a Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to more than a million.

Planners say the conference and visit could inject millions of dollars into the local economy, particularly for tourist attractions, restaurants, and hotels; one large hotel chain reported that it was already booked. While the event will require expensive security measures, covered partly by fund-raising, it will also draw valuable international attention to Philadelphia.

The city has benefited from hosting marquee events lately, including the concert festival Made In America, which has brought thousands of pop music fans to the Parkway for the past two summers. And the city is rightly on the short list for the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

American Catholics, meanwhile, will have a chance to see their spiritual leader in person and to reflect on the role of the contemporary family. Since becoming the church's leader in March 2013, Francis has drawn deserved attention with his frank and welcome compassion. He has said he would not judge a person for his or her sexual orientation and expressed zero tolerance for child sexual abuse, the strongest condemnation of pedophile priests issued by the church's hierarchy yet. He has also treated wealth disparities as a moral issue and called on world leaders to protect the environment.

The Vatican has also suggested that the pope might address the United Nations and Congress. Maybe he'll even take a break and join tourists posing with the Rocky statue. At the very least, he can be expected to offer a characteristically compassionate and thought-provoking statement on families in Philadelphia.