CHICAGO — Pope Leo XIV, the first North American pope in history, grew up attending church and school at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish on Chicago’s far south side, in Dolton, Illinois.
That church has been closed for decades, with windows broken, a ceiling that’s literally caving in, and glass and debris where there used to be pews.
One thing that still shines as bright as it did when now Pope Leo XIV attended services there in the 1950s and 60s is the stained glass.
Joe Hall, the owner of the building, said he was planning to convert the long-shuttered church complex into an adult education center.
As he watched the TV on Thursday, he was stunned to learn the news about the new pope.
“They say the new pope is from Chicago, and I am going, ‘Oh that is pretty cool.’ Then they flip to another shot and then they say he grew up not far from Dolton, in Riverdale, and I am going, ‘That is even cooler.’ And then it got to a point where my phone started blowing up,” he said.
He said the positive news is what this building needed.
“It has withstood a tornado, floods and all these setbacks, but now looking at it, I see them just as blessings on top of blessings,” Hall said.
The news is also proving to be a blessing for the community, too. Nancy Brown, who’s lived near the church for 33 years, said the notoriety of the new pope provides a sense of optimism.
“Our community has been in the dark like for a while," Brown said. "With this honor, everybody will know where Dolton is — everybody."
Hall said he isn’t sure what this news will mean for the church property moving forward, but he believes whatever happens will serve the community.
“The church will still remain a church, but now, we will probably switch it up to making it more significant to the pope now,” he said.
