Villanova University, Habitat for Humanity volunteers launch Pope Leo Village housing initiative in North Philadelphia

Volunteers broke ground Saturday on the first homes of Pope Leo Village — a yearslong Habitat for Humanity housing initiative that will stretch across North Philadelphia and throughout the nation.

The philanthropic venture, funded by an anonymous donor who was inspired by the first American pontiff, will build or renovate 26 homes in Brewerytown and Sharswood and hundreds nationwide from Omaha, Neb., to Tampa, Fla. On Saturday, about a dozen volunteers from Villanova University — the pope’s alma mater — began rehabbing two homes on North Hollywood Street.

Pope Leo XIV’s “life and witness remind us that our beliefs must always lead us outward to serve, to accompany, to advocate for the dignity of every person,” Villanova’s president, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, said at a news conference. Donohue later blessed the construction site with holy water. “This initiative reflects a fundamental truth: Housing is not simply a shelter — it is a moral issue, it is a matter of justice.”

He added, “When we invest in housing, we invest in human dignity and strengthening our communities.”

The purpose of the faith-based Pope Leo Village is twofold: to create affordable and stable housing and to engage young people in volunteerism. Just after the conclave last year, the anonymous donor pitched the Pope Leo Village as a tribute to Leo’s “spirit and ethos,” according to Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia CEO Corinne O’Connell. O’Connell said she could not say how much the benefactor contributed but called the gift “very generous.”

“It’s humbling, it’s motivating,” O’Connell said as the project got underway. Over the next two years, new homes will be constructed and others rehabilitated, then ultimately sold to low- and moderate-income families, with affordable mortgages.

In a statement, the donor expressed hope that the initiative “encourages young people and communities of faith to recognize housing as a social justice issue and service as a shared responsibility.”

Wildcat volunteers Mary Kate Farrell, 22, and Ana Mamola, 21, said they were honored to be putting their Villanova education and Augustinian mission into action.

“Affordable housing is something I definitely think about,” Mamola, a junior, said. “Giving a family an opportunity to have somewhere they can call their own is something that’s really special, and it’s a unique opportunity that we’re able to contribute to.”

Senior Farrell added: “The legacy of the neighborhood, too — I think it’s so special that we’re making a house. It’s going to be here for however many years to come and for however many families, too.”

The timing of the initiative’s launch was not lost on O’Connell. Last week, President Donald Trump lashed out at the pope for his criticism of the war in Iran. On social media, the president called Leo “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy.”

“It’s all the more fitting, and speaks to the importance of [the Pope Leo Village],” O’Connell mused.

In response to the president, Leo said he was “not afraid of the Trump administration” and would “continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems.”

» READ MORE: As Trump attacks Pope Leo XIV, Philly-area Catholics speak out against the president’s war

Donohue told The Inquirer that Leo, an Augustinian friar, is simply preaching the gospel.

“He’s calling people to live that commitment and to really look at how they’re using their lives to serve others and to end violence in the world,” Donohue said.

“That’s his job. There are other people that have other jobs.”