Pope Leo XIV's hometown approves purchase of his childhood home in bid to revive the village

Pope Leo XIV's hometown is poised to buy his childhood home after the south Chicago suburb's board voted unanimously Tuesday to purchase the property, hoping it will breathe new life into a village saddled with financial woes.

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Since white smoke billowed in May from the Sistine Chapel and Pope Leo XIV was elected Pope Francis' successor, the new pope's childhood home — a small, two-story house in Dolton, Illinois, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Chicago — has drawn visitors from across the country with many treating it as a pilgrimage site.

Cardinal Robert Prevost made history by becoming the first pope from the United States — a stunning decision that Chicagoans celebrated by flocking to churches and sharing memes.

Prevost was born in 1955 in the South Side Chicago neighborhood of Bronzeville and grew up in suburban Dolton, near St. Mary of the Assumption, where he attended Mass and elementary school. He later studied theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago in the Hyde Park neighborhood and taught in local Catholic schools, including at St. Rita High School.