Long before he ascended to the papacy, Pope Leo XIV was just a kid growing up in the Chicago suburbs. Now, his childhood home may be ascending too—in value.
The owner of the small brick house in Dolton, Illinois, is reportedly planning to hike its price after learning late Thursday that Robert Prevost—the newly elected pope and first American to lead the Catholic Church—once lived there.
“It’s like a winning lottery ticket. What are the chances?” the owner’s real estate agent Steve Budzik told the New York Post.
The modest three-bedroom house on E. 141st Place had previously been listed for $199,000, and had been on the market for more than 100 days. The owner has now pulled it off the market for now.
“There is no way [the owner is] going to sell it for 200 [thousand dollars] with all the value it has now,” Budzik said, noting that the owner received four offers on the same day Prevost was elected pope by the conclave. The owner is also weighing whether to transform it into a museum or historic landmark.
“[The owner] is excited and just kinda in shock right now,” Buszik told the Post, adding, “It’s been quite interesting the last 24 hours, just with all the activity and people are making offers and calling and wanting to see it.”
Leo XIV’s parents—Louis, a superintendent, and Mildred, a librarian—bought the newly-built house in Chicago’s south suburbs in 1949, paying a $42 monthly mortgage, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The pope, born in 1955, attended the now-closed St. Mary of the Assumption parish a few blocks north of the house. The Prevosts later moved, with the pope attending high school in West Michigan.
In May 2024, the Dolton home was purchased by the current owner for $66,000. He renovated it as part of a flip before finding out the place had holy ties. According to its Redfin listing, the single family home comes with a “contemporary new kitchen,” a jacuzzi tub, and new tile work.
“It’s rehabbed and it’s beautiful inside,” Donna Sagna, who lives next door, told WGN. She said she hopes the home becomes a “historic landmark for Illinois.”
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