A historic preservation group is lobbying to have the childhood church of Pope Leo XIV designated as a Chicago landmark.
The recently installed Pope Leo XIV attended Chicago’s St. Mary of the Assumption as a child. The church closed in 2011 due to declining membership and has since fallen into disrepair.
Preservation Chicago recently submitted a landmark suggestion form to Chicago officials requesting that the church, its parish school, and other buildings on the property be restored, and gave a presentation before the Program Committee of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks last Friday.
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Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller told The Christian Post that while officials “do not render a decision at the time of the presentation,” they will “review all of the submitted materials and contact us in the future if the decision to landmark the buildings moves forward.”
“Preservation Chicago is of the opinion that St. Mary’s Church and School, now known as the former St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church and School, are important historically to the city of Chicago and the world,” Miller said.
“We at Preservation Chicago find this complex of buildings to be important to the history of this area, as well as the city of Chicago and perhaps looking to the future, a site of pilgrimage, as part of our heritage tourism.”
Miller told CP that preserving and restoring the property “could also be a tremendous asset and boost for the Riverdale Community, which has suffered from much disinvestment over the past half century, economically with the loss of many industrial jobs, as well as a loss of residents.”
“The sheer magnitude of the first American pope, considered one of the world’s leaders and from Chicago, has the opportunity to bring many to this community and to this site,” he continued.
“After all, this church and school complex is located at a far corner of the city — far from the central area and downtown, so this has the power to bring more heritage tourism to the area, which perhaps to many has become somewhat forgotten with its rich history, but really has a most amazing narrative and record, extending back to the earliest beginnings of Chicago.”
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected head of the Catholic Church earlier this month, becoming the first pontiff who was born in the United States. He succeeded the recently deceased Pope Francis, and took the name Leo XIV.
Since his election, Block Club Chicago (BCC) reported that many people have been visiting the childhood home of Leo XIV, which is located in Dolton, a suburb of Chicago.
“My family lives around the corner, so I’ve walked by here ever since I was a little kid,” one Dolton resident told BCC. “But I got emotional when I passed by the house for the first time since we heard the news about the pope. This is amazing for Dolton.”
