“Just over one year since the world greeted a new pope, a pope born in America’s heartland, Chicago. Since the elevation of Pope Leo XIV to the Chair of St. Peter, his hometown has gone all in to celebrate its famous native son. His childhood home is now owned by the suburban village of Dolton, Illinois, so it can be preserved as a historic landmark and museum. And there’s a similar desire to preserve the building where the Prevost family went to church, though it was deconsecrated as a place of worship years ago.
“‘To think that standing in the very spot that the Pope actually went to school or went to church and was an altar boy — it’s still surreal,’ Cynthia Donohoe, former parishioner, said.
“With the church sitting empty for a decade and falling apart, Joe Hall bought the property hoping to revitalize the space into a community center to serve an ailing neighborhood that has seen jobs move out and crime go up.
“‘Understanding the significance of owning such a significant piece of history now, I feel like it’s my responsibility and my job to preserve as much as I can,’ Hall said. “The stained glass windows beautifully remain in the abandoned darkness. As if prophetically, one colorful window depicts the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and the keys Jesus gave to Peter, the first pope.
“Walking on the faded hardwood floor beneath the rusted hoops and lifeless scoreboard, providing evidence of what became the church gymnasium, we spoke with Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. The nonprofit, non-religious group fights to preserve or repurpose historic buildings in the city. The Pope’s childhood parish made the group’s 2026 Most Endangered List.
“‘This was the original 1917 church. Until 1957, this was the sanctuary,’ Miller said. ‘That brought people together, and the bleachers over there — I could imagine families watching their children. He was baptized here. His first communion was here.’
“‘There was a point in time where people really identified where you lived by your parish, and that’s truly a Chicago thing,’ Miller said. “He says the loss of a house of faith like this affects more than just the people who worship on Sunday.
“‘You’re losing a school. You’re losing a counseling center. You’re losing food pantries. You’re losing that sense of community which really comes together in these houses of worship,’ Miller said.” (Irons, EWTN News, 7/31/26)
“When white smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City in May 2025, it was like lightning struck the Far South Side of Chicago. The revelation that the newly selected Pope Leo XIV hailed from Dolton brought media and onlookers from all over the world to his childhood home just south of the city. They also flocked to the church and parish school in Chicago’s Riverdale neighborhood that the pontiff, born Robert Prevost, attended growing up.
“A year later, as some of that attention has subsided, efforts to restore and establish as historic sites the properties where Prevost grew up and received his religious education are slowly moving forward amid financial and structural challenges.
“The church where the Prevost family worshipped throughout the future pope’s adolescence, St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, is a modernist building constructed in 1957 and sits on a property at East 137th Street and South Leyden Avenue that also includes the parish school Prevost attended. … [Owner Joe Hall] wants to open up the church as a historic site with exhibits about the pope and the church’s background. Ultimately, Hall envisions working with a developer on a $16 million project that would include a boutique hotel on the site, a theatre in the basement of the school and a hub providing social services.
“‘My personal pledge is to make sure I do whatever I can to preserve the legacy of the first American pope that happens to be from Dolton, Illinois,’ Hall said. ‘The second thing, and what has always been our main and top priority, is the community and providing these skills and providing employment for locals.’
“In the meantime, the church’s roof has been tarped to protect the property from more damage. Dan Dorman, president of construction company Metropolitan, did the work for free. As a Dolton native who attended the church for about 20 years, he felt like he had to do something, he said. Dorman said he plans to do more work on the property and hopes others will contribute to the effort, since getting the church fixed and operational would be a relatively small project.
“Hall is in the process of pursuing city and federal landmark status for the property, which Preservation Chicago named to its annual list of most endangered structures in March.” (Herzog, Crain’s Chicago Business, 6/17/26)
“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.’
“Father [Joshua Caswell] told OSV News some months ago that he was giving a visiting bishop from Poland a tour of the church and the pope’s childhood home, when the bishop suggested the Chicago Archdiocese act quickly to preserve the church and pope’s home.
“‘Because he had seen what had happened in Wadowice, Poland, the homeland of John Paul II, he said, “You have to get ahead of this, because in time this will be a major shrine.”‘
“[Father Caswell] brought up the possible preservation efforts at a recent presbyteral meeting of the archdiocese and said Cardinal Blase J. Cupich assigned him — on the spot — to look into it. Father Caswell then connected with Vince Kolber and became a board member of the [Pope Leo XIV American Legacy Foundation].” (Orendain, OSV News, 5/12/26)
Preservation Chicago named St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church and School to our 2026 Chicago 7 Most Endangered Buildings list in March, and we are actively engaged in the effort to save it. We joined the Pope Leo XIV American Legacy Foundation’s inaugural pilgrimage to the site in May 2026, and we have brought preservation efforts before the Commission on Chicago Landmarks. Our online petition — Save the Pope’s Church! — calls on the City of Chicago to designate St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church and School a Chicago Landmark.
The building requires immediate attention. The church has a hole in the roof, broken windows, water damage to the floors, and graffiti behind the former altar. The school building is in similarly fragile condition. Thanks to the efforts of Scott Kuzminski and Dan Dorman, the roof has been tarped against further weather damage. Owner Joe Hall is committed to a long-term restoration and adaptive reuse plan, but the $1.7 million initial stabilization phase has been slow to fund, and the clock is running. Every Chicago winter that passes without envelope repairs deepens the damage.
These buildings are in need of immediate stabilization and temporary repairs, with a long-term goal of full restoration of the entire campus. We would very much like to see a partnership form to save these buildings and tell the story of this world leader. An initial step in this process would be a Chicago landmark designation of the buildings of this campus, with a plan to methodically restore and repurpose each of the buildings for community use. This complex should become a visitors’ site, an oratory or shrine — our first American Pope is a world leader, and from Chicago.
The Polish bishop’s Wadowice comparison is not hyperbole. John Paul II’s childhood home in Wadowice became one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Poland within years of his election. Visitors came not just to see a house but to understand a man — and through him, to understand something about the place and the faith that formed him. Robert Prevost grew up serving as an altar boy at St. Mary of the Assumption. His mother, Mildred Prevost, worked as a librarian in the school. Ten of his eighth-grade classmates from this parish traveled to St. Peter’s Square in March 2026, and the Pope held up their 1969 class photograph and signed it “Leo XIV.” This is a place of genuine historical and human significance, and it needs strong decisive support.
Preservation Chicago urges the City of Chicago to move forward with Chicago landmark designation for St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church and School. We urge the Archdiocese of Chicago to engage with Hall, the Pope Leo XIV American Legacy Foundation, and the broader coalition that is forming around this site.
We urge donors and funders to support the initial stabilization work through JBlendz Enterprises and Vince Kolbar, leader of the Pope Leo XIV American Legacy Foundation.
And we urge all who care about Chicago’s history — and about the first American pope who is a an international leader and world figure — to sign our petition at the link below.
Read the full story at EWTN News In Depth and Crain’s Chicago Business
The Push to Preserve Pope Leo XIV’s Childhood Parish in Chicago, Mark Irons, EWTN News, 7/31/26
Sign the Petition: Save the Pope’s Church!
Work underway to renovate Pope Leo’s childhood church in Chicago area, NBC 5 Chicago, 5/7/26