While flying back from his recent visit to the Philippines, Pope Francis announced he may cross the border between the U.S. and Mexico as a show of solidarity with Latino immigrants. Though the pontiff has not made plans to visit Mexico, he will be in the U.S. later this year.

Pope Francis announced some of his future trips and also commented on the possibility, in the future, of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border during his upcoming trip to the U.S., reports EFE.

"To enter the U.S. from the Mexico border would be a beautiful sign of brotherhood and help for immigrants," the pontiff told the more than 70 reporters aboard his plane.

"But, to go to Mexico without visiting the Virgin (of Guadalupe) would be a drama. A war would break out, and there is no time," the pope joked.

The pope's comment resonated with Latino immigrants regardless, especially when the comment comes from the world's first Latin American pontiff.

Nonetheless, the pope will visit the U.S. in September, according to the Catholic News Agency.

"The three cities are Philadelphia for the meeting of families, New York ... for the visit to the U.N. and Washington. It is these three," he said. The meeting of families is the World Meeting of Families.

The six-day trip will begin around Sept. 23 when he stops at Washington, D.C., to canonize Blessed Junipero Serra, an 18th century missionary who founded multiple missions in California.

"I would like to go to California for the canonization of Junipero, but I think there is the problem of time. It requires two more days," the pope said.

It is also proposed he will visit the White House, Congress and perhaps a juvenile detention facility or a hospital.

The pontiff will then speak at the United Nations in New York. He could also visit St. Patrick's Cathedral and give mass at Madison Square Garden.

"You can't go to anything connected to the Archdiocese without people asking if Pope Francis is coming," Joseph Zwilling, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of New York, told NBC News.

Related