CHICAGO, May 21 (UPI) -- Chicago's Catholic archbishop has proposed selling his landmark 120-year-old mansion to help financially struggling church schools.
The palatial three-story red brick mansion, nicknamed the House of 19 Chimneys because of its numerous fireplaces, has been the official residence of Catholic bishops since 1885. But Cardinal Francis George said his vow of poverty conflicts with living in a building worth between $12 million and $20 million.
George, 65, suggested selling the Gold Coast property last weekend at the ordination mass for 11 priests. He said he thought priests should live simply and said he would ask church leaders to consider putting a "For Sale" sign outside the mansion.
"How do you live in a way that appears simpler when living in that house?" he asked. "I have to ask a whole flock of people if we can sell the residence."
Some may be reluctant to let the mansion go, even though the historic building where Pope John Paul II and President Franklin Roosevelt once slept, is protected by designated landmark status and cannot be torn down without the city's permission by developers lusting to build another high-rise on the prime half-block lot it occupies near pricey Lincoln Park.
The Chicago Commission on Landmarks declared the mansion a landmark in 1975 as part of the Lakefront Protection district.
Just four people, including the archbishop, and several household staff members live in the mansion, which has a small chapel, guest rooms and sitting rooms. Four nuns live in the adjoining coach house.
George said he's never been comfortable living in a mansion and said proceeds from the sale should go into a fund to keep more parochial schools from closing. The archdiocese also faces huge legal expenses from priest sex-abuse lawsuits.
