Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home might have a future as destination for tourists and pilgrims following the village of Dolton’s July 10 purchase of the house at 212 E. 141st Place.
The village purchased the home for $375,000 following negotiations with the owner, after considering claiming the property through eminent domain.
Paramount Realty purchased the home for $66,000 in 2024, and renovated the three-bedroom, three-bath, brick Cape-cod style home. The company listed it for $199,000 before Pope Leo’s election. The asking price nearly doubled after the election of its now-famous resident.
Pope Leo, known then as Robert Prevost, grew up in the home that his parents purchased new in 1949. The family sold the house in 1996, and ownership has changed multiple times since then.
Dolton, located about 20 miles south of downtown Chicago, has an estimated population around 20,000. It is an economically challenged area that received national attention just prior to Pope Leo’s election for scandals related to former mayor Tiffany Henyard.
The modest home is nestled in a neighborhood with overgrown lots, homes and businesses in disrepair and many abandoned buildings. Members of the Dolton Police Department are currently stationed at the home.
Dolton Mayor Jason House told CBS news that the village plans to purchase at least one home on the block and make improvements to the area. It will open the home for tours after some repairs are made, House said.
“This is really to make Dolton a destination spot — within not only the south suburbs, but the state of Illinois,” House told the station.
The archdiocese had been in touch with the village about the status of the home and was pleased to know they purchased it, said Eric Wollan, chief capital assets officer for the Archdiocese of Chicago.
“They seem to be very interested in preserving the legacy and finding a way to appropriately present the home in a way that honors Pope Leo and is appealing to the Catholic community,” Wollan said. “They recognize certainly that that’s what’s important there.”
While no specific plans for the home exist, the village wanted to be sure that it remained in their control, he said.
“We don’t necessarily have a plan for it either,” Wollan said. “What we would look at is providing advice and guidance.”
The village is putting together a committee to look at the future of the house, and the archdiocese hopes to be part of that and help guide the plans.
“We look forward to collaborating with them and trying to provide the best and most appropriate experience and preservation of the home,” Wollan said.
Nothing original from the time Pope Leo lived there remains since the house was renovated by the previous buyer.
Dolton does not have a robust home-buying market, so the fact that an out-of-town buyer purchased that house to flip before Pope Leo’s election is a “crazy coincidence,” he said.
“Unfortunately, that means that there is nothing original in the house,” Wollan said.
Working with the former home of a pope from Chicago was not something that Wollan said he ever expected to come across his desk.
“Not in a million years,” he said. “The Holy Spirit works in ways you can never anticipate.”