YES WE VATI-CAN

Pope Leo’s Hometown Plans to Preserve His Childhood Home

The pope’s family lived in the home for almost 50 years.

Pope Leo XIV‘s hometown plans to acquire his childhood home in Chicago and turn it into a historic site that will be free to the public. The village of Dolton, in Thornton Township, Cook County, Illinois, said it will work with the Chicago archdiocese to preserve the pope’s brick-built home where he and his family lived for almost 50 years. The village’s attorney, Burt Odelson, told ABC7 that they plan to obtain the home “so that we can keep it as it is and people can come and view it.” He added: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.” Yet the village faces a challenge, as Leo’s humble family home is currently being fought over in an online auction organized by Paramount Realty, which also auctioned off Trump’s childhood home in 2017. Odelson said he informed the real estate auction company that the village will either purchase the home or buy it through eminent domain. “If there is a government use for any property or location, then the government has the ability, through the law, eminent domain, to pay a fair market price for that space,” Dolton Mayor Jason House said. He underscored the importance of the house to the village, noting that it brings “the recognition that great things do come out of Dolton.”