Revitalize Pope Leo XIV’s Childhood Catholic Church

This aim of this fundraiser (organized by Friends of Leo XIV Robert Prevost’s Childhood Church and Home) is to revitalize Pope Leo XIV's childhood church, St. Mary of the Assumption (13764 S. Leyden Ave, Chicago, IL 60827) as a Roman Catholic Church. In 1978, 2,000 families attended St. Mary’s (according to the two-volume book, “A History of the Parishes of the Archdiocese Chicago”), but St. Mary’s was closed in 2011, sold, and has since fallen into disrepair.

We believe this is a shame given Robert Prevost’s (Pope Leo XIV) historic election as the first American pope. In this light, the restoration of St. Mary’s would be a sign of renewed faith.

All funds collected through this fundraising effort will be put toward buying/restoring the building and ultimately re-establishing St. Mary of the Assumption as a Roman Catholic church, and will work in accordance with other groups seeking the same objective. The group will fully comply with and adhere to all the wishes of the Archdiocese of Chicago. There are some estimates that revitalizing the church will cost $800,000 to $900,000 (per the Chicago Sun-Times: https://chicago.suntimes.com/architecture-design/2025/05/09/st-mary-of-the-assumption-can-its-connection-to-pope-leo-xiv-save-a-vacant-far-south-side-church) in addition to purchasing the property.

This group (Friends of Leo XIV Robert Prevost’s Childhood Church and Home) was started by practicing Roman Catholics and admirers of Pope Leo XIV from across the United States connected to Chicago.