“On the first anniversary of Pope Leo XIV’s election, a group promoting the Catholic faith in Chicago’s south suburbs led an inaugural pilgrimage to his boyhood home and the church he attended as a boy.
“The Pope Leo XIV American Legacy Foundation’s pilgrimage left downtown Chicago May 8 via shuttle bus and made its way to the first stop, Christ Our Savior Parish, known as ‘the de facto home parish’ in South Holland, Illinois, of Pope Leo, who grew up as Robert F. Prevost.
“That location has the tabernacle from St. Mary,” Vince Kolber, chair of the newly established foundation, told OSV News. “What’s important about these three stops is that first we bring the Blessed Sacrament into our pilgrimage because Catholic pilgrimages do this. And Christ Our Savior is the nearest location of the Blessed Sacrament to the sites in south Chicago, St. Mary’s and the pope’s boyhood home.”
“Overcast skies covered the day ahead as the shuttle pulled up to the box-shaped building with long stained-glass windows. The church, about two miles from his home, drew lots of attention in the early days of the pope’s election. And a year later, its sanctuary was more than half-filled for the special Mass of thanksgiving for Pope Leo.
“The St. Mary of the Assumption property made Preservation Chicago’s annual ‘7 Most Endangered’ list this year. The group, which joined the pilgrimage, is trying to get Chicago landmark status for the church building.
“Preservation Chicago executive director Ward Miller told OSV News, ‘When we realized the pope was from this church, our awareness level increased dramatically. We made a tour of the building following this announcement.’
“The property, surrounded by now impoverished suburbs, including Dolton and Riverdale, is owned by Joe Hall, a Chicago DJ. Hall has plans to turn the church’s seven-building campus into a workforce development hub with community mental health and memory care services, a food pantry and an arts program for youth. Hall’s JBlendz Enterprises, a nonprofit, projects a total $15.2 million budget for the entire project including the oratory. His nonprofit is working with the Pope Leo XIV American Legacy Foundation and Preservation Chicago.” (Orendain, OSV News, 5/12/26)
Ward Miller and Preservation Chicago played an critical roll in connecting Metropolitan Contractors to repair the large hole in the roof of St. Mary of the Assumption. This is a significant step to seal the building envelope from the weather. This will help to stabilize the building as the advocacy effort continues to restore and Landmark the building.