A Portuguese Catholic priest and global electronic-music sensation hosted a rave in Buenos Aires on Saturday honoring Pope Francis, who died in April 2025. Padre Guilherme Peixoto, a DJ-priest in his 50s, mixed techno and religious melodies at the historic Plaza de Mayo for thousands of attendees spanning generations and faiths. The tribute featured images of the late pope and John Paul II projected on enormous screens.
The event reflects Peixoto’s mission to reach youth through unconventional means, continuing the approach Pope Francis championed—engaging people on the peripheries rather than from institutional pulpits. Peixoto has built a following of 2.8 million on Instagram and over 220,000 monthly streams on Spotify, performing at major festivals across Europe and Latin America.
From Seminary to the DJ Booth
Padre Guilherme Peixoto was ordained a priest in 1999, partly out of religious conviction and partly to honor a promise his mother had made to God when he suffered a life-threatening illness as a child. For years, his priestly calling remained his defining identity. Electronic music was merely a hobby.
That changed in the 2000s, when Peixoto began playing music at universities and organizing parties to raise funds for his parish. He asked that nobody photograph him, fearing reprisals from church superiors. Those constraints dissolved in 2013, when Jorge Bergoglio assumed the papacy as Pope Francis. The new pope’s repeated calls to “go out to the peripheries” and his injunction to not be afraid to engage the world resonated deeply with Peixoto.
“He often said, ‘Don’t be afraid,’ that we had to go out to the peripheries and that ‘We shouldn’t be afraid to use our hands.’ These messages were an inspiration,” Peixoto said in an interview with The Associated Press.
He enrolled in DJ school and studied electronic music production, composing his own tracks and contacting producers. Invitations arrived to perform at festivals across Portugal. His global breakthrough came in 2023 at World Youth Day, where he performed before an open-air Mass celebrated by Pope Francis himself.
A Rave in Buenos Aires
When Pope Francis died in April 2025—a year before Saturday’s event—Peixoto had lost the pope who had freed him to become himself. The rave in Buenos Aires was his tribute.
The event filled the historic Plaza de Mayo with thousands of attendees spanning generations and faiths. Young and old danced. Catholics and agnostics alike moved to the beat. Enormous screens projected images of Pope Francis and John Paul II as white doves floated overhead. When Peixoto emerged from behind the DJ booth, he wore his priestly collar alongside headphones.
“God bless you, and let’s dance,” a voice-over announced before he began mixing.
For the next two hours, Peixoto merged techno with religious melodies. His set list included his own composition “El Grano de Mostaza,” along with remixes of Bad Bunny and Queen. The production value rivaled any nightclub in Europe.
Jesús Martín, a 54-year-old Spanish electronic-music fan, stood in the crowd. “This is a unique opportunity to see him, and it’s free,” he said. “In Ibiza, you have to pay 150 euros, and up to 2,000 euros for VIP.”
Silvia Garaggiola, 60, had come specifically to remember the pope. “I learned about him when the tribute to Francis was first announced. I came to remember the Pope, but I think what he does is very original, as long as it’s done respectfully,” she said.
Seventeen-year-old Ileana González had no religious affiliation. “I have zero religion, but I’m having fun,” she said. “It sounds really good.”
Reaching Beyond the Church
Peixoto has built a global following of 2.8 million on Instagram and over 220,000 monthly streams on Spotify. He performs at major festivals: the Medusa Festival in Cullera, Spain; Dreamfields in Mexico; the Hï club in Ibiza, often called the “Vatican” of electronic music.
At each venue, he broadcasts a message of peace and coexistence to crowds composed largely of non-practicing Catholics and people outside the faith entirely. The Catholic Church’s resistance to modernization, its rejection of sexual diversity, and documented scandals involving the abuse of minors have created a barrier between the institution and younger generations. Peixoto’s work operates at that intersection—using electronic music to reach people the institutional church has lost.
“I believe it is incredibly important to make young people smile, to help them feel happy with themselves, rather than associating happiness with merely possessing this or that material thing,” he said.
He added: “I will never lose this connection with Pope Francis. He was the one who touched my heart with this facet of music.”