A historic St. Louis church and rectory where Pope Leo XIV lived and studied during his early years as a priest is on the market for $1.8 million.
The Pope, then known as Robert Prevost, spent a year at Immaculate Conception Church in St. Louis, located in the Gate District near the Saint Louis University medical campus, between 1977 and 1978 as an Augustinian novice, reported the New York Post on Wednesday.
The structure has gained renewed attention after Prevost was elected Pope in May 2025, becoming the first American to lead the Catholic Church and taking the name Leo XIV.
The church was built in 1890, with its current structure completed around 1908, and has not been used for religious worship in about 20 years.
According to documentation about the property, it was designed by the prominent St. Louis firm Barnett, Haynes & Barnett, the same architects behind the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.
The limestone structure features original rose windows, soaring 60-foot ceilings, and seating for more than 500 people.
The church and rectory, along with other associated buildings, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a designation that can make preservation-focused redevelopment projects eligible for certain tax incentives.
During his time there, Prevost was not simply a student but an Augustinian novice, completing his first formal year of religious training.
Local parishioners have recalled that the future Pope was a quiet presence who also spent time engaging with the community, including playing basketball with neighborhood schoolchildren, reports the St. Louis Review.
The sale includes the former sanctuary, which offers roughly 17,000 square feet of open space, as well as an adjacent rectory measuring about 8,000 square feet with 10 bedrooms.
The rectory housed priests and novices during Prevost's stay at the parish.
The full campus sits on approximately 1.5 acres and includes around 70 surface parking spaces, a rare feature for a historic urban church, according to marketing for the sale.
The church has been promoted as suitable for conversion into an event venue, restaurant, creative space, boutique hotel, or residential development.
After the parish closed, the property was purchased by the Compton Heights Concert Band, which used the church for concerts and rehearsals. More recently, local investors began stabilization work to prepare the site for adaptive reuse.
The church is located in the Gate District, an area that has seen renewed investment and redevelopment in recent years due to its proximity to Saint Louis University and the surrounding medical complex.
Brokers say the asking price reflects both the building's historic stature and its potential role in the neighborhood's ongoing revitalization.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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