Thursday marked a historic day for the Catholic Church that particularly hit home for adherents around Chicago, with the election of area native Pope Leo XIV making him the first-ever American-born pope.
The historic news inspired a moment of joy and pride for Chicago-area Catholics, some of whom decided to travel to the church where Pope Leo began his journey from Catholic school student to pope.
The parish, St. Mary of the Assumption Church, located at 310 East 137th Street in the city’s Riverdale neighborhood, merged with another parish in 2011, according to ChicagoCatholic.
The church is located just over one block north of the city’s border with suburban Dolton, where Pope Leo grew up.
Photos taken inside the church show Chicago-area Catholics praying for the new pope inside the abandoned building, showing noticeable signs of decay on both the interior and exterior.
The interior of a shuttered St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, where Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost, used to attend while growing up, in Dolton, Illinois, on May 9, 2025. Robert Francis Prevost became the first pope from the United States on May 8, 2025, picking the papal name Leo XIV after cardinals from around the world elected him leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Tens of thousands of people packed in St Peter’s Square cheered as Prevost appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, waving with both hands, smiling and bowing. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images) The interior of a shuttered St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, where Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost, used to attend while growing up, in Dolton, Illinois, on May 9, 2025. Robert Francis Prevost became the first pope from the United States on May 8, 2025, picking the papal name Leo XIV after cardinals from around the world elected him leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Tens of thousands of people packed in St Peter’s Square cheered as Prevost appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, waving with both hands, smiling and bowing. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images) A bird sits in a nest on a basketball hoop in the gymnasium of the shuttered St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, where Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost, used to attend while growing up, in Dolton, Illinois, on May 9, 2025. Robert Francis Prevost became the first pope from the United States on May 8, 2025, picking the papal name Leo XIV after cardinals from around the world elected him leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Tens of thousands of people packed in St Peter’s Square cheered as Prevost appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, waving with both hands, smiling and bowing. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) / ALTERNATE CROP (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images) People walk inside the shuttered St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, where Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost, used to attend while growing up, in Dolton, Illinois, on May 9, 2025. Robert Francis Prevost became the first pope from the United States on May 8, 2025, picking the papal name Leo XIV after cardinals from around the world elected him leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Tens of thousands of people packed in St Peter’s Square cheered as Prevost appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, waving with both hands, smiling and bowing. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images) The exterior of the St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, where Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost, used to attend while growing up, is seen in Dolton, Illinois, on May 9, 2025. Robert Francis Prevost became the first pope from the United States on May 8, 2025, picking the papal name Leo XIV after cardinals from around the world elected him leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Tens of thousands of people packed in St Peter’s Square cheered as Prevost appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, waving with both hands, smiling and bowing. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images) DOLTON, ILLINOIS – MAY 8: Melvin Griggs (L) and Ronald Cashaw talk inside the now closed St. Mary of the Assumption church after Cardinal Robert Prevost was named the new Pope on May 8, 2025 in Dolton, Illinois. Prevost grew up in Dolton and was part of St. Mary of the Assumption church. Prevost will take on the name of Pope Leo XIV. Pope Leo XIV is originally from Chicago and the first from the United States. (Photo by Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images) A gymnasium inside of the shuttered St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, where Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost, used to attend while growing up, in Dolton, Illinois, on May 9, 2025. Robert Francis Prevost became the first pope from the United States on May 8, 2025, picking the papal name Leo XIV after cardinals from around the world elected him leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Tens of thousands of people packed in St Peter’s Square cheered as Prevost appeared on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, waving with both hands, smiling and bowing. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images) Read More Details
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