How the new Pope Leo XIV's childhood church in Chicago fell into disrepair -- and what may lie ahead

How the new Pope Leo XIV's childhood church in Chicago fell into disrepair -- and what may lie ahead

CHICAGO — Above the door of the church in the last blocks of Chicago, the Virgin Mary still stands with her arms wide open. The double doors beneath the statue’s feet are shut, but a disintegrating wooden side door swings freely, leading to a...

The church in Dolton, on the outskirts of Chicago, where the current Pope Leo XIV served mass as a child, has fallen into ruin. There is a big hole in the roof, and the confessionals have become toilets for the homeless. Paweł Żuchowski, the American correspondent of RMF FM, was there.