Dolton Village Board to decide on acquiring Pope Leo’s childhood residence at 212 East 141st Place

The back-and-forth dispute between the village of Dolton and the homeowner might finally reach a resolution after Tuesday night’s vote. The house, previously scheduled for auction, saw intervention from the village officials.

Pope Leo XIV’s childhood house, located in the south suburb, had renovations done on the same day that its future ownership might be decided.

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During Tuesday night, Dolton is anticipated to make a decision on purchasing the property, which has been Donna Sagna Davis’s neighbor for the past eight years.

“I’m meeting new people. The community’s coming together. I’m praying a lot. People use that porch right there like an altar, you know, to come and pray,” she said.

The property, located at 212 East 141st Place, has been a focus of contention between the village of Dolton and the house’s owner in the wake of the new pope.

SEE ALSO: Ex-Dolton employee files motion to block village from buying Pope Leo XIV’s former home

The house, at first, was set to be up for auction until the owner received a letter from the village’s attorney in May, giving them what seemed to be a narrow choice.

“You can sell it if you want, but you must give your potential buyers, notice that we’re going to take it under eminent domain,” said Dolton Village Attorney Burt Odelsen.

The Prevost family owned the Dolton home for nearly 50 years. Dolton had said it wants to work with the Chicago Archdiocese to turn the house into a historic site open to the public.

By law, using eminent domain, the village could take ownership of the now-famed property for public use by purchasing the home at a fair price.

“And that brought them to the table, so to speak,” Odelsen said. “It should be used for the purpose that the other Pope homes are being used for across the world, and that is for people to come and see where the Pope was born and raised.”

Odelsen also commented on the pending auction on the property.

“It was supposed to be up on June 18 because we couldn’t get this all done. Then they continued it for another 30 days. Although, I can tell you that after tonight, when the board officially approved the purchase of the home, we will be closing on the property, hopefully, within a week,” Odelsen said.

Until then, village officials said, they will not disclose the amount they plan to purchase the property until the deal is closed.

Tuesday night’s special meeting started at 6:30 p.m.