Portuguese 'DJ priest' plays upbeat tunes to spread hope

LAUNDOS, Portugal - Portuguese priest Guilherme Peixoto rose to fame playing electronic dance music near his church in a tiny Portuguese village. Now famous beyond borders and playing at some of the world's best nightclubs, his goal - to spread a message of hope through music - hasn't changed.

On Friday evening, hundreds of partygoers, old and young, flocked to the northern village of Laundos to hit the dance floor as 49-year-old Peixoto, wearing a black shirt with a clerical collar, took to the DJ booth.

One of the first songs of his DJ set included excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr's historic "I Have a Dream" speech. He also mixed religious songs with techno music.

"Making the night a safe space is always a huge challenge... and it must start with the music you play, the energy you transmit, the message you share," Peixoto said as people gathered for the festival, called "Ar de Rock", or "Rock Air".

Many went up to him to ask for selfies and chat.

His music festival takes place during summer but Peixoto, who has over 900,000 followers on Instagram, plays elsewhere too. He performed at Hi Ibiza, one of the world's top clubs, on Thursday and has concerts scheduled in Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

Last year, Peixoto was invited to perform during Pope Francis' visit to Portugal for World Youth Day. Music is so important to him that in 2019, during a trip to the Vatican, he asked Francis to bless his headphones.

"Music unites us," he said.

Peixoto's passion started young and grew while in seminary. It was on a trip to Afghanistan as military chaplain in 2010, during which he organised social events for soldiers, that he started to explore the world of DJing.

When he returned home, Peixoto enrolled in DJ school and has been playing ever since.

"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.

The morning after the Laundos party, which lasted until the early hours, Peixoto had to officiate at a wedding nearby, swapping his black clergy shirt for a long white robe and his headphones for a Bible.

"I can't take this literature to the dance floor but I can have the same principles: talk about Christ, tolerance, faith and love," he said.

-(Reuters)