Holly Boblink remembers pretending to hold Catholic Masses with a childhood friend in south suburban Dolton during the 1960s.
Boblink said she had no idea then that Robert Prevost, who she called Robbie, would become the newly elected Pope Leo XIV.
“We used to play tag, we used to ride bikes, said an excited Boblink, 71, who lived on the same street as Prevost. “We used to play Mass. … We used to have candy wafers. We would break them and pass them out.”
Boblink said she met Prevost in second grade at the former St. Mary of the Assumption, which borders Dolton in Chicago. He was a good student and nice, she recalled.
She said she hopes Prevost remains humble as pope.
“I hope … he remembers his roots,” she said. “He came from simple roots. [His] family was honest, just a lot of integrity.”
On Thursday, Boblink’s street was busier than usual as people slowly drove by to take photos of the small brick house on 141st Place to see where the first U.S. pope grew up.
When Gardis Watts heard the news, he said he had to see Prevost’s former home.
Watts, 42, will graduate later this month from the Catholic Theological Union, the same Chicago theological school the pope graduated from in 1977.
Watts, who lives in the nearby Riverdale, said the house sits in an area that seems forgotten.
“We have to remember the forgotten people, the forgotten places, the forgotten areas,” Watts said. “I hope he does remember where he comes from and remembers the people who are here right now,” he said. “Dolton is much different than when he lived here, but still, these people here need to be remembered. They need to be recognized.”
Dawn Ribnek, a Chicago Catholic, made the drive down to Dolton on her day off. She said as a Chicago born-and-raised Catholic, she felt she had a duty to pray for him.
Not familiar with the neighborhood, Ribnek said she was struck to see where the pope grew up and that it may be a testament to who he is in his papacy.
“I’m struck that this town probably has some very, extremely hardworking people,” she said. “Our new pope picked the name Leo, presumably after Leo the 13th, who was a champion for the rights of workers.”
Bob Gorman Jr. decided to take a visit to the now closed St. Mary of the Assumption parish, where the pope used to attend. Growing up on the South Side near the area, Gorman said he knew this place well.
“He came from humble beginnings right here, like I did, and ended up in the Vatican, the father of over 1 billion Christians,” he said. “That’s a wonderful thing.”
Contributing: Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere