Pope Leo XIV Blesses ‘Holy Rave’ as DJ Priest Performs at 600-Year-Old Gothic Cathedral

The Catholic Church brought electronic music to Slovakia in the most unexpected way possible, with a DJ priest, laser shows, and a message from Pope Leo XIV himself.

When you think of the Catholic Church, massive outdoor raves probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind. But on November 8, 2025, the Vatican organized a full-blown electronic music event outside St. Elisabeth Cathedral in Košice, Slovakia, complete with lasers, projection mapping, and a priest spinning melodic techno behind the decks.​

The event wasn’t some rogue party. It was officially sanctioned by the Vatican to celebrate Archbishop Bernard Bober’s 75th birthday. And it came with a personal video blessing from Pope Leo XIV, displayed on massive LED screens before Portuguese DJ priest Padre Guilherme dropped his unreleased track “Dear Young People“.

When Faith Meets the Dance Floor

Padre Guilherme is not your typical club DJ. The 51-year-old has been a Catholic priest since 1999, serving as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Braga in northern Portugal and holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as a military chaplain.

But since taking a DJ course years ago, he’s been using electronic music as a vehicle for evangelization, performing everywhere from World Youth Day in Lisbon to Afterlife at Hï Ibiza. His approach is unconventional but intentional. “Electronic music is a privileged way to build a better world,” Padre Guilherme has said. “On the dance floor, inclusion, tolerance and respect are promoted. In electronic dance music, those who have faith and those who don’t, dance together.”​

At the Košice celebration, the production rivaled any major festival. The historic cathedral dating back to 1380 served as the backdrop for a stage setup that looked straight out of Tomorrowland. Lasers cut through the night sky, projection mapping transformed the Gothic façade, and a massive sound system pumped out bass-heavy melodic techno tracks to a packed crowd.

The Pope’s Message: Dear Young People

Before Padre Guilherme’s set began, Pope Leo XIV appeared on the LED screens behind the DJ booth with a pre-recorded video message. “Dear young people, with joy, I greet you, as you gather before the splendid cathedral of Košice, which is a beating heart of faith and hope,” the Pope said. “Coming from different nations, yet united by the same faith, your presence is a tangible sign of the fraternity and peace that is instilled in our hearts by friendship with Christ”.

The message concluded with the Pope’s “apostolic blessing” and a final “amen.” Padre Guilherme immediately mixed it into a melodic techno drop, using the Pope’s voice as part of the track itself. The song, titled “Dear Young People,” remains unreleased but samples the papal address throughout the composition.​

This isn’t the first time Pope Leo XIV has shown support for unconventional youth outreach. The American-born pontiff, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was elected on May 8, 2025, making him the first American pope. Since his election, Pope Leo has focused heavily on engaging younger generations, including meeting with Catholic social media influencers and hosting digital encounters with youth worldwide.

From Parish Fundraiser to Global Phenomenon

Padre Guilherme’s journey from small-town priest to internationally recognized DJ priest is unlikely and intentional. He initially started DJing to raise money for his parish in Laúndos, near Porto, which had accumulated debt from restoration work. His first concerts proved successful, and he continued performing, donating proceeds to parish improvements while developing a signature sound that blends sacred music elements with melodic techno.​

His big break came at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon from August 1-6, where he was asked to perform before the Pope’s morning Mass. At dawn, he performed for approximately 1.5 million young people who had spent the night outdoors at Parque Tejo, spinning a set infused with phrases like “Do not be afraid” and “todos, todos, todos”.​​

Hours later, he was back in his parish saying Mass and officiating weddings. Since then, Padre Guilherme has become a fixture on the global electronic music circuit. He’s performed at Afterlife at Hï Ibiza, one of the world’s most prestigious melodic techno events, Medusa Festival in Spain, and at iconic landmarks like Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro.

The Sound: Melodic Techno Meets Sacred Music

Padre Guilherme operates within the melodic techno genre, characterized by emotional synth lines, deep rolling basslines, and hypnotic rhythms typically ranging from 120-128 BPM. Unlike harder industrial techno, melodic techno emphasizes atmospheric soundscapes and progressive builds that create an almost spiritual listening experience.​

He fits perfectly within this aesthetic alongside artists like Tale of Us and Recondite, but he adds his own twist by incorporating sacred music elements, papal speeches, and lines from Catholic texts like “Laudato Si'” into his tracks.

The Internet Reacts

The Košice event went viral across social media, racking up millions of views on TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit. Community reactions ranged from enthusiastic approval to humorous disbelief.​

“Forgive me father for I have synth,” joked one highly upvoted Reddit comment. Another user quipped, “He really said, this is God’s HOUSE”, while someone else declared, “We got a pope rave before GTA 6”.​

On Instagram, users coined terms like “Popechella” and “Father son and the holy rave” to describe the spectacle. “Jesus would have loved this,” one commenter wrote. Another added, “I’m an atheist, but I’m SO HERE for techno priests and a PLUR papacy”. ¹​

But some Reddit users were quick to correct the narrative. “It wasn’t the Pope who hosted the rave. It was a DJ priest in Slovakia who arranged the event. The Pope merely recorded a video message that was showcased on the large screen,” one user clarified.

Others drew connections between rave culture and spirituality. “Just dancing and music alone can be linked to spirituality,” one commenter noted. “I’ve heard stories of a priest giving a confession right in the midst of a rave, which I think is incredibly metal!” another added. ²

The Spirituality of Rave Culture

The connection between electronic music and spiritual experience isn’t new. Academic research has documented how rave culture functions as a form of modern ritual, with ravers describing their experiences in explicitly religious terms.​

“I consider it to be a very spiritual experience,” one raver told researchers. “It was what I always thought that religion was supposed to be, the community lightening of yourself, and to come out of a party and just be so filled with pure love and leaving the frustration of the week behind at the rave. It showed me true spirituality, from within flowing out of myself and joining it with other people. Undoubtedly the most spiritual feeling I’ve ever had”. ³​

Electronic music communities have long created spaces for “collective ecstatic religious practices” similar to ancient rituals. The repetitive beats, shared movement, and communal atmosphere can induce altered states of consciousness that participants describe as transcendent. ⁴​

Padre Guilherme taps into this existing spiritual dimension of dance culture. As one analysis put it, “His sets feel like the moment faith meets rave culture, giving major holy rave vibes”.

Not Everyone’s Celebrating

Not everyone is thrilled about the church’s embrace of rave culture. Some conservative Catholics have raised concerns about the association between raves and drug use, sexuality, and hedonism. ⁵​

The Catholic Church maintains strict opposition to recreational drug use. The “Catechism of the Catholic Church” states: “The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offense”. Pope Francis himself declared before his death in April 2025, “The problem of drug use is not solved with drugs! Drug addiction is an evil, and with evil there can be no yielding or compromise”.​

However, supporters of Padre Guilherme’s approach argue he’s meeting young people where they are. Not everyone walks into church, but they might scroll a livestream or step onto a dance floor.

The Catholic Church’s Gen Z Strategy

The Košice rave fits into a broader Vatican strategy to engage Generation Z through digital media and contemporary culture. Pope Leo XIV has made youth outreach a central priority.​

“The Catholic Church is no stranger to resurrection,” CNN reported. “In an era when the Church is often associated in the West with its older congregants, aging priests, and harrowing sexual abuse scandals, this revival is emerging from an unexpected demographic: Generation Z”.​

Recent data shows Gen Z is leading in weekly church attendance compared to other age groups. Catholic influencers and digital missionaries are credited with helping spark this resurgence.​

Pope Leo has explicitly encouraged young people to become “leaders of creativity and courage,” urging them to forge new paths. ⁶​

What’s Next

Padre Guilherme shows no signs of slowing down. His 2025 tour schedule includes performances across Europe and Latin America, and he continues to balance his duties as a parish priest with his growing international DJ career.

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“Being a priest means being among people and helping them understand that if they have values they will not lose them just because they go out at night to party,” he said. ⁷​

The Košice event demonstrates how religious institutions can engage with youth culture on its own terms. Not by watering down doctrine, but by finding new vessels for ancient messages. Whether it’s a Pope’s blessing sampled over a melodic techno drop or scripture verses mixed into festival sets, Padre Guilherme’s approach suggests that sacred and secular aren’t necessarily opposed.

As one Reddit user put it: “Rave rules and church rules are the same”. Both communities emphasize love, acceptance, unity, and transcendence. The only difference is the venue, and now even that distinction is blurring. ⁸​

For the thousands who danced outside St. Elisabeth Cathedral that November night in Slovakia, the message was clear: faith can be found anywhere, even on the dance floor. With Pope Leo XIV’s blessing, the Catholic Church is officially ready to meet Gen Z where they’re at. Bass drops and all.

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