Dolton officials have finalized the purchase of Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home, potentially establishing the small, two-story brick house as an official worldwide tourist destination.
The village bought the residence for $375,000 on Tuesday, a week after the Dolton Village Board approved the purchase of the home, village spokesperson Nakita Cloud said.
The south suburb’s next step is to secure the property with a gate, then obtain national historic landmark status for the building, Cloud said.
The house at 212 E. 141st Place has attracted visitors from across the country since May, when Robert Prevost became the first U.S.-born pope.
“This opportunity could not have come at a better time,” Cloud said. “It was right on brand with the fact that we were stating that Dolton is a new community and we want to look forward and we want to bring some positivity to the community.”
She referred to the “negative light” shone on the village in recent years as it grappled with allegations of former Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s financial mismanagement and corruption, leaving the village with $3.65 million in debt.
“And now we’re highlighted for having a home of one of the most well-known people right now on Earth, the only American pope,” Cloud said. “So, not only are we honored, we are humbled and we are excited for what’s about to come.”
Dolton Mayor Jason House also plans to present to the community a breakdown of the village’s options with the property, the revenue opportunities and where those funds would end up, Cloud said.
Prevost was born in Chicago and grew up in the south suburb after his parents bought the new 1,200-square-foot house in 1949, paying a $42 monthly mortgage.
The house recently had been listed for sale by its then-owner but was quickly taken off the market after Pope Leo XIV’s election.
The owner then decided to put the house up for auction through New York-based Paramount Realty USA, with a reserve price of $250,000. After being extended a month, the auction was set to close July 17, according to the company’s website.
In May, a Village of Dolton attorney told the auction house that the village was prepared to use eminent domain to acquire the house, which would have allowed the village to buy the home for public use regardless of whether the owner wanted to sell.
At last week’s village board meeting, House called the village’s prospective purchase of Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“We can either seize this moment and move it forward or we can let that moment go to an investor,” House said last week.
“This is a proud moment for our village and an opportunity, and we want to make sure that we’re doing it justice,” he said.
Windy City Construction recently gifted a free new roof on the house, and the previous owner had other interior renovations completed in the last year with initial plans to fix up the home and sell it.
Those changes could now be gutted, as ideas had been floated about restoring the home back to the way it was years ago when Prevost lived there.