On a break from chatting with and taking photos for visitors to Robert Prevost’s childhood home Thursday, Dolton’s official co-chaplain Deborah White said she felt divine intervention in the excitement and economic opportunity brought to the village through Pope Leo XIV.
“The timing was nothing but God,” White said.
The announcement that Prevost, raised in Dolton, would become the first American pope came as the village worked to transition from the high-profile, highly criticized administration of former Mayor Tiffany Henyard to that of Jason House.
“He held this up until our former leader was out, to bring this to the forefront so it would have positivity surrounding it,” White said.
In the two months since the village purchased the pope’s boyhood home at 212 East 141st Place for $375,000, House says efforts to organize a steering committee to decide next steps for the house and pope-related tourism in Dolton are underway.
“The next thing is for us to make sure we have it secured, not just secured but make sure the area remains a safe environment and nice and neat while we work through what the long-term direction is going to be,” House said.
He said a police officer is assigned to keep watch outside of the house daily.
The mayor said he has chosen four of the seven members for a steering committee and expects it will be begin meetings by the end of October.
House and other village trustees are also focused on efforts to highlight the home and support visitors. With Prevost’s 70th birthday on Sunday, the village will host a program and celebration outside of his childhood home from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., complete with a balloon release and a photo op with a Pope Leo XIV cardboard cutout. House said he hopes to make the party an annual event.
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“I know the spirit of everybody when they get out there,” House said.
The house still regularly teems with tourists, including as part of a bus tour that starts in Chicago and ends there.
“It just feels lively and emphatic, and that’s something that words can’t capture, but it’s definitely an experience,” House said.
House, White and many Dolton residents who greet visitors cite overwhelmingly positive effects, including boosted property values and newfound interest in their village of 21,000 people that has struggled financially. However, House said he is still looking to curb any potential negative experiences of those living on the block.
“It’s an adjustment period,” House said. “I speak with (residents) as often as humanly possible because we’re supporting the development of that area, and part of supporting that development is being able to responsibly have more traffic.”
House said the village is considering multiple ways to draw in more revenue as people stop by the house, including potential partnerships with nonprofits and property additions.
He said he’s researched approaches taken by other towns home to important landmarks for remarkable people, including those in other countries where popes were born. The Jacksons Family Home in Gary, Indiana was another potential model, though less applicable due to a lack of consistent foot traffic there.
But House said a priority is ensuring “anything we do be consistent and mindful of the Catholic faith.”
“If we’re doing things the right way … as a by-product of that, the village will benefit,” House said.
Local merchandise
The Dolton firefighter’s union has found success selling T-shirts with an image of Pope Leo XIV as part of a community fundraiser. The shirts refer to Dolton as “Home of the Pope,” and include the phrase “From the Valley to the Vatican” in reference to a nearby Dolton neighborhood.
Dolton fire Capt. Pete McCain said Thursday that since starting the fundraising project two months ago, the union has sold as many as 1,000 shirts, which are available both at the Dolton fire station and online. He said the money raised will help produce more merchandise to meet the high demand and profits will go toward community service projects such as an annual Christmastime toy and food giveaway.
“Obviously, they wanted to pay tribute to the fact that Pope Leo came from Dolton. Everyone here is very proud of that. And at this point, it’s taken off like wildfire,” McCain said. “Giving back to the community, creating more funding mechanisms … We take pride in that.”
Dolton officials, including Trustee Tammie Brown, expressed support for ensuring Dolton benefits from outside interest in pope related merchandise and memorabilia. Brown said she could picture some sort of gift shop on the block as well as a coffee shop to provide a place for tourists to sit and reflect.
“We’re trying to uplift the whole town, beautify the whole town,” Brown said.
Bus tours
Bus tours from Chicago’s Gold Coast that stop at important sites in Pope Leo XIV’s early life have been a major source of visitors to the home on East 141st Place.
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Zach Schnitzer, the Chicago Pope Tours’ chief experience officer, said once the news broke of the new pope’s connection to Chicago and south suburbs, a group of about five people worked together to organize the tours, which have seen great success so far.
“It’s not just about the pope, it’s also about the city of Chicago and its history,” Schnitzer said.
The bus tour makes stops at Prevost’s childhood home along with the site of his parents’ 1949 wedding, his South Side birthplace, the seminary where he trained to become a priest and his childhood church, St. Mary of the Assumption. The cost of a single ticket is $65 and includes a discount on Aurelio’s Pizza in Homewood, a favorite of the pope’s.
Schnitzer said he is happy the tours are boosting traffic in neighborhoods like that of Prevost’s childhood home in Dolton, regardless if that leads to vast economic growth.
“If nothing else, it just puts it on the map in an exciting way,” Schnitzer said. “No matter you want to say about the town, it obviously had a really strong influence on somebody who really rose to the top.”