Portuguese Priest DJs at Beirut Club After Mass

In the heart of Beirut's vibrant nightlife, Portuguese Catholic priest Guilherme Peixoto, known as Padre Guilherme, transitioned from leading a Mass to spinning electronic tracks at a sold-out nightclub on Saturday, drawing hundreds of revelers and reigniting debates over faith and modern expression in Lebanon.

The 52-year-old clergyman from northern Portugal began his day at the Saint Joseph University of Kaslik, where he delivered a sermon in his traditional white robe alongside a local priest to a packed auditorium of young people and adults. There, he explained his dual role, quoting a psalm to justify electronic music as a tool for praise. "The Psalm asks us to praise the Lord with all instruments, so now you have this new instrument that came, that is electronic music," Peixoto said.

By evening, Peixoto took the stage at AHM nightclub, where pulsating bass filled the air and about 2,000 attendees cheered his arrival. Projections of past popes, including the late Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II, along with white doves symbolizing peace, lit up screens behind him. He played a dedicated song for Lebanon and waved its flag to the crowd, while swaying to the beats in a...