“Preservation Chicago is recommending that St. Mary of the Assumption, Pope Leo XIV’s childhood church, receive landmark status on the heels of Leo’s historic appointment as the first United States-born pope.

“The pope and his family worshipped and participated in services at St. Mary’s for years. The seven-building campus at 310 E. 137th Street, on the border of Chicago and Dolton, Ill., is also where Pope Leo went to elementary school. Preservation Chicago, a local non-profit that advocates for the preservation of the city’s historic buildings and neighborhoods, is pushing for the church to become a landmark.

“At a Friday meeting of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller said that the site, which was on no one’s radar just over a week ago, now has the potential to become a place of pilgrimage for Catholics and others across the globe.

“According to Miller, the process to landmark the church will take at least a few months, if not a year. Friday’s recommendation for landmark status marked the first formal step in the process. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks will next determine whether to move that suggestion forward.

“Landmark status will also require City Council approval. If the church is approved as a preliminary landmark, the building will be officially protected by the city from ‘disfigurement’ until the official process is complete, according to Miller.

“The church was built in 1957 (and designed by architect George S. Smith) and sold by the Archdiocese to its current owner, Joe Hall, in 2011 following dwindling membership.

“‘[Joe Hall] was there this morning at city hall with us supporting our suggestion for landmark for this building complex, the church, the school,’ Miller said.

“According to Miller, Hall had been planning a workforce development project for the Riverdale community on the site. And since Preservation Chicago is looking for landmark status to be applied to the outside of the building, the inside, which is vacant, could be used for such a project.

“Miller also suggested that the designation will increase tourism to the community, thus boosting its economy. ‘It’ll also help reinvigorate the Riverdale community of Chicago,’ he said. ‘It has just seen so much disinvestment over the last 50 years.’

“He also said that protecting the ‘historic, built environment’ will help the city as a whole, both economically and culturally.

“Miller also advocated for more buildings related to Pope Leo XIV to be designated as landmarks and said that St. Mary’s was just the start of that process. The pope’s childhood home, which is in the neighboring suburb of Dolton, was one structure he suggested. That designation would come from Dolton, not Chicago, but Miller said he is willing to help Dolton with the landmarking process.

“‘I think it’d be really important because he is the first American Pope of all time,’ Miller said. ‘We should be looking at some sites in and around Chicago where he pastored or was part of a faculty, or he would … help to provide a service or a mass. I think we should be following this history and have some type of marker recognition.’

“Preservation Chicago has created a change.org petition for the landmarking of St. Mary of the Assumption church and school. The petition had attracted 493 signatures as of late Friday afternoon.

“St. Mary’s was one of four buildings recommended to be considered for landmarks by Preservation Chicago Friday, Miller said. The others included Whitney Young Magnet High School, 211 S. Laflin St., McKinley Park’s Central Manufacturing District and the Chicago Daily News newspaper building at 2 North Riverside Plaza.” (Sheperd, Block Club Chicago, 5/19/25)

“‘The owner of the former church, along with Preservation Chicago, are leading the effort to designate this building as an official landmark of the city of Chicago,’ Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Dan Pogorzelski.

“The Red Line Extension to Altgeld Gardens will likely be crucial to getting tourists as well as the faithful of the Roman Catholic Church who will want to pay homage to the new pontiff to the former church of Saint Mary of the Assumption.'” (Greenfield, Streetsblog Chicago, 6/9/25)

Ward Miller has been in direct communication with owner Joe Hall to encourage Chicago Landmark Designation of St. Mary’s / St. Mary of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church from 1957, by George S. Smith at 310 E. 137th Street and St. Mary’s / St. Mary of the Assumption School from 1917 by Hermann Gaul at 305-313 E. 137th Street. Owner consent greatly accelerates the speed and ease of Chicago Landmark Designation

Read the full story at Block Club Chicago and Streetsblog Chicago

• Pope Leo’s papacy begins… Meanwhile, back in Dolton, Annalisa Wilson, Chicago Star, 6/26/25
• Pope Leo’s Childhood Church Could Become A City Landmark; St. Mary of the Assumption has fallen into disrepair, but landmark status would protect its exterior. The move could also help “reinvigorate” the South Side’s Riverdale community, supporters say, Lauren Sheperd, Block Club Chicago, 5/19/25
• Can Pope Leo XIV’s boyhood church — St. Mary of the Assumption — be saved? The church’s owner hopes the papal link can help efforts to save and reuse the parish buildings on the Far South Side, Lee Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/9/25
• Preservationists seek landmark designation for Pope Leo XIV’s boyhood church on Far South Side, Karen Jordan, ABC 7 Chicago, 5/13/25
• One more reason to proceed with building the Red Line Extension: It could become a pilgrimage route for “Chicago Pope” Leo XIV fans, John Greenfield, Streetsblog Chicago, 6/9/25
• Town where Pope Leo XIV grew up seeks to acquire his childhood home, Amira Abuzeid, Catholic News Agency, 5/22/25
• Petition to Landmark Pope Leo XIV’s Childhood Church and School!
• He Grew Up in a Parish on Chicago’s South Side. Now He’s the Pope, For Chicagoans, the selection of Robert Francis Prevost was thrilling and a little stunning, Julie Bosman and Mitch Smith, New York Times, 5/8/25