Buyers flock to Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home in Chicago

A Chicago property developer has whisked a three-bedroom house off the market after learning it was the new pope’s childhood home. 

Pawel Radzik bought the house in 2024 with plans to renovate it and resell it for a profit. 

He listed the property in January 2025 for $US219,000 ($343,000) – about three times what he originally paid for it.

After months without a sale, Radzik cut the price to $US199,000 ($312,000). 

But the appointment of Pope Leo XIV last week put a wrench in the property flipper’s plans. 

“[The real estate agent] called me and said, ‘Hey, the pope used to live in your house’,” Radzik told the New York Post. 

Robert Prevost, the newly-elected pope, spent his childhood in the small brick house in Dolton, Illinois which his parents bought in 1949. 

He went to primary school at St Mary of the Assumption parish in the nearby suburb of Riverdale.

Since the pope’s appointment, the historically working-class suburb of Dolton has seen a surge of tourism. 

Within hours of the news, offers on the house started flooding in. 

But Radzik quickly took the property off the market, reportedly sensing a business opportunity. 

“It was listed for $200,000, but there is no way he’s going to sell it for 200 now with all the value it has now,” real estate agent Steve Budzik told the publication. 

“It’s like a winning lottery ticket.” 

Radzik is yet to decide his next steps, but indicated he has plans to re-list the property with an increased price. 

Alternatively, he is also considering turning the property into a museum and running tours.

Since purchasing the house in 2024, Radzik gutted the interiors and transformed it into a modern family home. 

He added a new L-shaped kitchen with subway tiling and granite-style countertops. 

It is currently set up as a three-bedroom home, but there is the potential to create two additional bedrooms in the basement.

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