You know how the old joke goes: An archbishop, a priest and the pope walk into a rave.
Were you waiting for a punchline? There isn’t one. But there is a beat drop.
In a crowded square in Slovakia, in the shadow of St. Elizabeth’s Cathedral in Kosice, Pope Leo XIV surprised hundreds of concertgoers at a rave earlier this month when he appeared on a giant LED screen to bless the crowd, video footage showed.
“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,” Pope Leo said.
The remarks, which were broadcast from a recording to the square full of ravers, were cast amid lasers, lights and the boom of electronic music that rose to meet Leo’s echoing “Amen.” Throngs of revelers held up phones, recording the blessing, before a priest — who was also the D.J. — dropped a beat and played thumping music, sampling elements of the papal address.
The event on Nov. 8, hosted by Guilherme Peixoto, a Portuguese priest who doubles as an electronic D.J., celebrated the 75th birthday of Archbishop Bernard Bober of Kosice.
The papal address was also posted, without strobe lights, by the Vatican on YouTube.
It was another effort by Pope Leo — who is this week setting off on his first trip, a tour of the Middle East — to connect with young Catholics as the institution seeks to capitalize on a resurgence of interest from Gen Z. A majority of residents of Slovakia identify as Catholic.
Such endeavors have become a trademark of Pope Leo, who has ingratiated himself with the masses through his pastimes: watching the Chicago White Sox, playing Wordle and fashioning himself as something of a papal Midwestern uncle.
The pope will depart on Thanksgiving for a six-day trip through Turkey and Lebanon, where he will meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, say Mass in Istanbul and visit the port in Beirut, which was rattled by an explosion in 2020.
Ali Watkins covers international news for The Times and is based in Belfast.
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