Guilherme Peixoto
Guilherme Peixoto | |
|---|---|
Padre Guilherme performing in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in July 2025 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Padre Guilherme, DJ Priest |
| Born | 1974 (age 51–52) Guimarães, Portugal |
| Genres | Techno DJ |
| Years active | 2020-present |
Guilherme Peixoto, best known as Padre Guilherme (born 1974), is a Portuguese Catholic priest and DJ, who blends electronic dance and religious music in his live sets. His performances at World Youth Day in 2023, and another featuring Pope Leo XIV in 2025 both went viral on social media.[1]
Life
Guilherme Peixoto was born in Guimarães, Portugal, in 1974.[2][3] He has been a priest since 1999, and has served both in the Portuguese military as chaplain, on tours to Kosovo and Afghanistan, and as a parish priest in Laundos and Amorim in the Archdiocese of Braga, northern Portugal.[3][4]
It was during a tour of Afghanistan in 2010, when Peixoto was organising social events for soldiers, that he began to DJ. Back in Portugal, he took classes in DJing and then began to put on club nights as fundraisers for his parish church in Laundos.[5]
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Peixoto began streaming weekly DJ sets where he combined electronic dance music with religious and folk music, and became known as the "DJ Priest", or "Padre Guilherme". In 2023, he performed an early-morning outdoor set for World Youth Day in Lisbon, which went viral on social media.[6][4] He has also performed beneath the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and at other festivals including the Medusa Festival in Spain and the Zamna festival in Chile.[3] In November 2025, another of Peixoto's live performances went viral, when his set outside the Cathedral of St. Elizabeth, Košice, Slovakia, to mark Archbishop Bernard Bober's 75th birthday featured an appearance by Pope Leo XIV.[1][7]
Music and discography
Peixoto's music blends the beats of electronic dance music with aspects of the religious world, including songs (Ave Maria), church bells, and excerpts from papal encyclical letters such as Pope Francis' Laudato si' and Fratelli Tutti.[4][8]
Peioxoto has released several tracks on his label, Lux Aeterna Records, and others in collaboration with other artists.
- "Ave Maria" (2022) with Karetus
- Povoa Bendita (EP, 2023)
- Selfish Love II (EP, 2024), remix of a song by Pedro Cazanova
- Veneremur Et Adoremus (EP, 2025), with Ebmath [9]
- Integral Ecology (EP, 2025) [10]
References
- ^ a b Richardson, Jacques (21 November 2025). "Pope makes unexpected appearance at priest DJ's cathedral rave" – via Classic FM.
- ^ Esteves, Pedro Castro. "Guilherme Peixoto" – via MaisGuimaraes.
- ^ a b c Shutler, Ali (26 August 2025). "Viral DJ priest performs banging techno remix of 'Super Mario Bros.' theme" – via NME.
- ^ a b c Dell'Orto, Giovanna (9 November 2023). "As a DJ, village priest in Portugal cues up faith and electronic dance music for global youth" – via Seattle Times.
- ^ Demony, Catarina; Pereira, Miguel; Nunes, Pedro (17 July 2024). "Portuguese 'DJ priest' plays upbeat tunes to spread hope" – via Reuters.com.
- ^ Soufi, Daniel (18 August 2023). "The (not so) curious case of priests who DJ in the history of electronic music" – via El Pais.
- ^ Jambhekar, Noopur (23 November 2025). "Pope Leo surprises ravers by blessing crowd during DJ set" – via Independent.co.uk.
- ^ Patrick, Natalie (15 October 2025). "Padre Guilherme channels spirit and sound in his transformative new EP, 'Integral Ecology'".
- ^ Notion Staff (5 September 2025). "Veneremur Et Adoremus by Padre Guilherme & Ebmath" – via Notion.
- ^ Benetti, Achi (13 October 2025). "Padre Guilherme Unites Faith and Frequency on 'Integral Ecology'" – via Earmilk.