CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago suburb where Pope Leo XIV grew up marked his 70th birthday Sunday with gospel music and a balloon release outside his boyhood home .

A small crowd attended the festivities outside the modest brick house in the village of Dolton, where the former Robert Prevost grew up after he was born in 1955 in Chicago, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away.

“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, i

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