Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost, grew up in the Chicago area, specifically in the suburb of Dolton, Illinois, just south of Chicago. He was born in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago's South Side in 1955 and attended church and school at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in that area

. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Dolton with his family, attending the local Catholic parish school and participating in church activities

. After eighth grade, he went to an Augustinian seminary high school in Holland, Michigan, before pursuing higher education at Villanova University in Pennsylvania and later graduate theological studies back in Chicago

. In summary, Pope Leo XIV grew up primarily in Dolton, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago, where he attended Catholic school and church before continuing his religious and academic formation elsewhere