Latest news with #ChicagoArchdiocese
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chicago's Pope Leo celebration sold out quickly — drawing second market frenzy
CHICAGO - Tickets for the Chicago Archdiocese's celebration of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field on June 14 sold out quickly on Friday, sparking a surge in resales on the secondary market. The Brief Tickets for the Chicago Archdiocese's celebration of Pope Leo XIV at Rate Field on June 14 sold out quickly on Friday. Hundreds of tickets purchased for $5 were being resold on sites like StubHub for hundreds of dollars or more. The event will feature a video presentation about the Pope's Chicago roots, speakers from Cardinal Robert Prevost's time in the city, and a recorded greeting from the Pope himself. What we know Tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. for $5 each, and by mid-afternoon only upper deck seats remained. By 10 p.m. on Friday, all tickets available on Ticketmaster were sold out. "We sold over 10,000 tickets in the first half hour," said Chicago White Sox senior vice president Christine O'Reilly. "I think it's amazing, and it goes to show that the Pope is a pope for all people and people want to be part of this." The event, produced by the Archdiocese of Chicago, will feature a video presentation about the Pope's Chicago roots, speakers from Cardinal Robert Prevost's time in the city, and a recorded greeting from the Pope himself. "What it is going to be is an insight into who the Holy Father is," said Archdiocese Vicar General Bishop Larry Sullivan. "It's a way for us to really learn about his South Side roots, to learn about him, and for us to be able to relate to him." Sullivan noted that Rate Field was chosen as the venue because the Pope is a lifelong White Sox fan and attended the 2005 World Series. What's next As for logistics, O'Reilly said all the buzz about the event means the show must go on. "We're making plans. Obviously, it's two weeks away, so we've got our work cut out for us. The altar will be set up on a stage on the field, with some seating on the field and in the stands. We're going to open the gates at 12:30 that day." Meanwhile, hundreds of tickets purchased for $5 were being resold on sites like StubHub for hundreds of dollars or more. "I think that's telling us that there's a great buzz, that this is a historic moment and people want to be part of something special," Sullivan said.
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Illinois town moves to seize Pope Leo XIV's childhood home through eminent domain, convert to historic site
The Illinois town where Pope Leo XIV's boyhood home stands is planning to acquire the residence through eminent domain laws despite it being currently up for sale. The home's current owner is reportedly trying to sell the home, but may have little choice over the matter. Under Illinois law, the village has first choice on the property through eminent domain, according to Attorney Burt Odelson who represents the Village of Dolton, Fox Chicago reported. The city can acquire the home through eminent domain, the government's ability to take private property for public purposes. "The village of Dolton intends to purchase this home either through direct purchase or through their eminent domain powers," Odelson told Misha Haghani, the CEO and founder of Paramount Realty USA, in a letter dated Tuesday that was provided to Fox News Digital. The Village of Dolton has the right to purchase the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home even if another buyer is willing to pay a higher price, the letter states. "We will do what the archdiocese thinks is best to preserve the home so that everybody, not just in Dolton or the South suburbs, but worldwide, can come to his home," Odelson told Fox Chicago. Village officials are working with the Chicago Archdiocese to turn the home into a historic site that can be visited by the public, Odelson said in his letter. The house was built in 1949 and measures 1,050 square feet, while the lot on the property is just under 5,000 square feet. The current owner purchased the home for roughly $66,000 Odelson said. The home was renovated this year before going on the market. "It was on the market for $199,000 and then Pope Leo was made pope, and he took it off the market. And then there was silence," Odelson explained. The reserve price is $250,000, according to the Paramount Realty USA auction website, where the home is listed for sale. "Born Robert Francis Prevost, Pope Leo XIV made history as the first American pope upon his election in May 2025. His childhood home is being offered for sale via private auction," the description of the home states. "Located in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, this modest brick home was owned by the Prevost family for nearly 50 years and served as the foundation of a life that would lead to the Vatican." Bids will be accepted through June 18, according to the listing. However, Odelson addressed a letter to Misha Haghani, the CEO and founder of Paramount Realty USA that said it could stall the sale before it ever hits the auction block. "Please inform any prospective buyers that their 'purchase' may only be temporary since the Village intends to begin the eminent domain process very shortly," he wrote. Fox News Digital has reached out to Paramount Realty USA.
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Chicago Suburb Plans to Acquire Pope Leo XIV's Childhood Home
The Chicago suburb where the first American pope spent some of his boyhood is seeking to acquire his childhood home. If it can't work out a way to buy it, it will take it. 'The Village of Dolton intends to purchase this home either through direct purchase or through their eminent domain powers,' wrote Burton S. Odelson, an attorney for the village of Dolton, Ill., in a letter sent to Paramount Realty USA, a real estate auction firm that had already begun collecting bids for the property. 'The Village intends to work with the Chicago Archdiocese and other agencies to allow the home to be viewed and visited by the public as a historic site.' It's the latest development for the modest three-bedroom house after it was put up for auction last week with Paramount. Acquiring the house via eminent domain would allow the village of Dolton to take the private property for public purposes, though the government would have to pay 'fair compensation' to the owner, according to the letter. The seller, Pawel Radzik, 'is excited to have the potential opportunity to work with the church, the archdiocese and the village of Dolton to purchase the property,' said Steve Budzik, the real estate broker representing the property. Mr. Radzik, 36, bought the home in 2024 for $66,000 with a plan to renovate and flip it. 'Ultimately, what happens is up to the owner of the property,' said Misha Haghani, the CEO and founder of Paramount. 'We're just advisers here.' The brick home, which had been listed for 199,900, suddenly became a historic site when Pope Leo XIV was introduced to the world earlier this month. The pontiff, who grew up as Robert Francis Prevost, spent at least some of his childhood in the house on 141st Place, about 30 minutes south of downtown Chicago. His father, Louis Prevost, sold the house in 1996 after almost 50 years, according to county records. After receiving only a handful of offers in recent months, Mr. Budzik and Mr. Radzik were inundated with a sudden rush almost immediately following the conclusion of the conclave. Mr. Budzik and Mr. Radzik quickly pulled the house off the market as they worked out their next steps. Unable to settle on a price, they turned to Paramount, which started the auction and began collecting bids. The auction is set to conclude June 18. The village's letter outlining its intent to acquire the home was sent to the auction house on Tuesday. Mr. Odelson, the village's attorney, said in an interview that he has been in touch with the seller's team and that negotiations are 'open now.' He said he hopes to avoid eminent domain, which would entail an expensive and lengthy legal process. Using eminent domain, Mr. Odelson said, 'keeps the home in the news and not the light that the village or the church want. We don't want it to be a controversy; we want it be a sacred site.'
Chicago Tribune
18-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Edward Keegan: Pope Leo XIV's childhood home an example of the ordinary architecture Chicago does well
The elevation of Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost to Pope Leo XIV earlier this month remains a shock. That's because the papacy is something so extraordinary that almost none of it fits neatly with who he seems to be. So many aspects of this Holy Father are just so ordinary. To listen to him talk is to hear the rhythms of any Sunday morning in a Chicago parish church. His wry smile seems full of love and patience, but he's obviously knowing and not necessarily approving of everything that happens on his watch. And that's OK, because we know he still loves us. Neither Leo's childhood home or church will be named landmarks on their architectural merits, but they both represent some dominant themes in Chicago's more acclaimed buildings — that is, a genuine sense of the ordinary. The pope's childhood home in Dolton is nothing if not modest. Built in 1949, the 1,050-square-foot home is tiny — especially when you imagine the Prevost family of five living within its simple brick walls. It's a variation on the Cape Cod, a classic American form that was replicated across America in the years following World War II. But the use of Chicago common brick on each facade clearly places the home here; many similar homes outside the Chicago area were clad in wood. The raised first floor suggests that the basement was likely used for significant living spaces, although it's my speculation that the Prevost family spent large amounts of time downstairs. If they did, I would expect plastic slipcovers on the furniture in the upstairs living room. While modest, the Prevost home sits amid a suburban tract development with similar small lots and houses. Even three-quarters of a century after their construction, not much has outwardly changed. Just a three-minute drive or a 15-minute walk away is Leo's childhood parish church, the former St. Mary of the Assumption in the Riverdale neighborhood. In a city with a wealth of spectacular churches, the pope did not attend one of them. There's no question that great art and architecture can enhance faith, but St. Mary of the Assumption is proof that it's hardly necessary. The church's expression is quite ordinary. The parish dates to 1886 with early structures built in 1917, but the existing church structure on South Leyden Avenue and East 137th Street was constructed in 1957, when Prevost would have turned 2. The most noteworthy aspect of the building is its two-story arched stone entrance with a deeply recessed rose window above that frames a statue of Mary. The church does not represent the high modernism that many parishes in the Chicago Archdiocese embraced during this period. Might being raised amid this architectural austerity have inspired the young Rev. Robert Prevost to seek out missionary locales such as Peru for his ministry? In architecture, like religion, it seems we're always looking for the extraordinary. But it's hard to recognize the extraordinary until we clearly see the ordinary. Any city or community contains many buildings — and most of them are absolutely ordinary. One essential factor in Chicago's architecture has been its unapologetic embrace of the ordinary. That's one important reason why the city's designs have been so influential and why our architecture is considered quintessentially American. It's meant to impress, but only so much. And I think it's one reason we immediately recognized the new pope as our own. For almost two centuries, much of Chicago's architecture has focused on pragmatic and functional concerns, creating forms in the 19th and 20th century that are readily replicable. My favorite Chicago building has always been H.H. Richardson's Marshall Field Wholesale Store, which was demolished in 1930. Its rough-hewn stone walls and simply articulated windows and stringcourses were absolutely extraordinary in their ordinariness. Completed in 1887, it declared a straightforward approach to architecture whose progeny would include structures across the country. Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan's Auditorium Building owes a lot of its brain and brawn to the earlier example, one of the few times that Sullivan acknowledged the influence of another building and its architect. While seldom noted as such, much of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's work was quite ordinary. In fact, the American phase of his career, which spans from his arrival at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1938 through his death in 1969, was about creating the glass and steel aesthetic that defines architecture during that period. Whether we're talking about his campus at IIT, his apartments buildings at 860-880 N. Lake Shore Drive, or the Loop's Federal Center, each of these is quintessentially ordinary. And countless office and apartment buildings around the globe owe their aesthetic to these models created here. In Chicago, whether it's architecture or Catholicism, we do ordinary very well. And I think it's one reason we now call Pope Leo XIV our very own. Edward Keegan writes, broadcasts and teaches on architectural subjects. Keegan's biweekly architecture column is supported by a grant from former Tribune critic Blair Kamin, as administered by the not-for-profit Journalism Funding Partners. The Tribune maintains editorial control over assignments and content.
Fox News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Prominent Chicago priest hails local-born Pope Leo XIV as advocate for poor, baseball fan
According to church leaders from the Archdiocese of Chicago, newly elected Pope Leo XIV, the first pope to hail from the United States, has a heart for the poor and is also a baseball fan. Though a church leader at a press conference on Thursday said he had heard the new pope is a Cubs fan, his brother has since corrected the record, clarifying that he is actually a White Sox fan. Leo XIV's election was announced to the entire world on Thursday, marking a historic moment in which a Chicago-born cardinal, Robert Francis Prevost, was chosen as the Catholic Church's new leader. A member of the Augustinians, a religious order within the Catholic Church, the 69-year-old pontiff was born in Chicago, studied at Villanova University, was ordained a priest in 1982 and was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023. He had been serving as prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. The Chicago archdiocese celebrated the news of the pope's election in a press conference on Thursday in which they shared some insight into what kind of leader Leo might be. Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Lawrence Sullivan said that "Pope Francis was certainly someone who cared for those who are living on the fringes, who could easily be forgotten. And I strongly suspect that Pope Leo the 14th will do the same thing. He will give voice to the voiceless." Sullivan said that Leo "brings a wide variety of perspectives," including "what it means to have been born in Chicago, what it means to have been educated here in the United States, what it means to serve in Peru." He said that Leo's former leadership roles at the Vatican mean that he "has a real hands-on knowledge of what it means to serve the poor and to help those who are in need" and that he is "very familiar with the worldwide church." Sullivan went on to note that "the people of God are not confined to national boundaries" and that Leo "is not an American at this point. He's a child of God, and that's the way that he's going to lead, taking all people into consideration." Despite this, Father Gregory Sakowicz, rector of Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral, said, "You can never deny your roots. So, I'm sure he has a love for Chicago, love for the United States. That's part of his upbringing." Smiling, Sakowicz said that "one burning question I have is the fact that the Pope, Leo the 14th, or the cardinal, then Robert Prevost, was born in Chicago on the South Side. Is he a Chicago White Sox fan?" Sakowicz said he did not know whether Leo was a White Sox fan but that he knows that "he's a Cubs fan." "I heard he's a Cubs fan. Well, God bless him, and God bless all the fans," said Sakowicz. The pope's brother, John Prevost, has since set the record straight, telling NBC News, "Whoever said Cubs on the radio got it wrong. It's Sox."
