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“It’s a good time for the community to come together,” said
Village President Jason House. “It shows that great people come
out of the village of Dolton.”
The village purchased the house in July in hopes of boosting
tourism and claiming a piece of papal history of the first
American pope. They’re also trying to drum up a positive message
about the community where there’s been political turmoil in
recent years, including misspending allegations surrounding a
previous mayor.
Village officials said they tried to contact the pope but did
not hear back.
When he was elected in May at age 69, he was the youngest pope
since 1978, when Karol Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II at
age 58. Leo has dual U.S. and Peruvian citizenship given his 20
years of missionary experience in Peru.
His birthday was celebrated at the Vatican during his
traditional noon blessing, where he saw “Happy birthday”
banners, in English, Italian and Spanish and balloons held up by
those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
In Illinois, photographs of him as a child and as pope were
displayed outside the three-bedroom house in the suburb south of
Chicago.
Leo’s family lived there until the mid-1990s, witnessing big
demographic changes over the years. Once a town of a few
thousand where most residents were white, Dolton is now a
community of roughly 20,000 where most residents are Black.
Attendees prayed for the pope's health and leadership. There was
an a cappella rendition of the gospel hit “Break Every Chain,”
along with the Stevie Wonder version of “Happy Birthday.” Silver
balloons in the shape of stars were released into the sky.
“We hope people feel welcome,” House said.
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