The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV has been pulled off the market as the owner decides how to make the most of his property's revised market value, the New York Post reported on Friday.
Pawel Radzik was going about his day when his real estate agent called him with some news about the modest property he was intending to sell.
"Hey, the Pope used to live in your house," Radzik said his agent told him on the phone. "I'm like, 'Stop joking.'"
On Thursday, the cardinal electors of the Catholic Church elected Chicago native Robert Prevost, 69, as the first ever U.S.-born Pope to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. Prevost chose Leo XIV as his papal name.
The Pope's family lived in the five-bedroom, two-bathroom house brick house in the Chicago suburb of Dolton, Illinois, until 2017, when it changed hands a few times before Radzik picked it up as an investment property.
The father of two said that the only original elements are the walls as property had been gutted and updated for resale.
The home sat on the market for roughly three months until Thursday. Radzik was originally ready to be free of the house for around $200,000, but upon learning of its newfound notoriety, he plans on hanging on to it for a bit. His real estate agent, Steve Budzik, told the outlet: "It's like a winning lottery ticket. What are the chances?"
"It was listed for 200 [thousand dollars], but there is no way he's going to sell it for 200 with all the value it has now," Budzik said. "I'm sure people have a similar idea to make it for tours."
Radzik said he has received four offers on the house after months of silence.
"It's been quite interesting the last 24 hours,'' Budzik said, adding, "Just with all the activity and people are making offers and calling and wanting to see it."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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