People visiting wrong house near Pope Leo XIV's childhood home in Dolton

People visiting wrong house near Pope Leo XIV's childhood home

Everyone wants to see Pope Leo XIV?s childhood home in Dolton?just not at Carolyn Moore?s address.

DOLTON, Ill. - We've been talking about all the pride Chicago is feeling this week about one of our own being elevated to pope.

But as FOX 32 went down to south suburban Dolton to visit Pope Leo XIV's boyhood home on Friday, we found one nearby homeowner who says this holy history is making for some unexpected headaches.

"Since about six this morning, I've got reporters like yourself coming to the door. People taking photos outside of the house. And I have to let them know, ‘you got the wrong house,’" said Carolyn Moore, a Dolton resident who lives close to the pope’s childhood home.

Moore isn't getting much sleep these days, thanks to a hometown papal pick and some confusing street signage. Her house number is the exact same as the pope’s childhood house one block south.

The pope’s former home has become something of an instant holy shrine, beset by camera crews and faithful Catholics from all over the world.

"We came straight from Louisville, Kentucky, and we came straight here so we could see it," one woman said.

"This is a picture of us, Jim and Chris, at the pope's childhood home," another couple said.

But with all the excitement, many visitors are falling prey to a quirk in the Chicago area's street naming system. The pope's house is on 141st Place, and Moore’s house is on 141st Street.

"I'm on Street and that's Place over there. So that's the difference," Moore said. "Mine is a purple door. That one is a red door."

"I wish I was the one who got the landmark home. But you know, it's still good to find out that someone like that lived in this neighborhood before," she added.

And with more and more pilgrims coming to see the pope's old home, and the Village of Dolton talking about buying the house and turning it into a historical site, Moore has an idea to get some sleep.

"I'm thinking about putting a sign up saying 'go to that address,'" she said.

The pope's boyhood home was on the market for $199,000. But the house-flippers who rehabbed the home have now pulled the listing, realizing its historical significance could make it worth much more than that.