In the 1950s and '60s, a kid named Bobby Prevost grew up in his family's small and unassuming home in the Chicago suburb of Dalton, Illinois. Today, that home has become what a story in Chicago magazine calls "an unofficial pilgrimage site." Because, of course, Bobby Prevost grew up to become Pope Leo XIV and now resides in Rome. The story by Kelley Engelbrecht sets the tone:
- "The house that sits quietly at 212 East 141st Place isn't impressive. The roof's shingles are peeling and in dire need of replacing. The unpainted, unsanded wooden front railing is abrasively new, the stamp from the lumberyard still visible. The concrete steps, also new, have started accumulating objects: rosaries, unlit candles, apples that are now browning. A silver crucifix rests on the windowsill."
The house had coincidentally been up for sale when Leo was elected pope, and the village ended up buying it for $375,000 after threatening first to take it by eminent domain. The question now is whether the site will boost the fortunes of the village, which was once a "typical postwar south suburb" but has since fallen on harder times thanks to "decades of corruption and disinvestment," writes Engelbrecht. She spends time talking with the locals, including the police officer whose full-time job is to park in front of the house, and describes a mixture of pride and wry bemusement. As the 81-year-old local bar owner puts it, referring to people flocking to the home: "You could probably just go down the street to a lawn he probably walked on. Rub your butt on the grass." Read the full story.
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