A Catholic cemetery church in Vienna is set to host a silent disco. St Borromeo’s Church at Vienna Central Cemetery, where the composers Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms are all buried, will welcome revellers next month.
Attendees are invited to “experience a silent disco in one of Vienna’s most impressive Art Nouveau buildings: the Church of St Borromeo at the Vienna Central Cemetery”. The event description adds that “on April 17, the historic church interior will be transformed for one evening into an atmospheric, tranquil, yet energetic dance venue”.
The bizarre advertisement encourages ravers to attend by promising “two DJs” and the opportunity to switch between them, with genres including “House, Electronic, Hip Hop & Pop // Alternative, Indie and Rock”. The church’s architecture is highlighted not for the spiritual solace it is designed to offer, but for its “clear spatial design”, which creates “an extraordinary backdrop for this unique event”.
The ticket page further strips the building of its spiritual significance, explaining: “We’re transforming Vienna’s Central Cemetery into a silent disco! We’ll dance and party together in the Church of St Borromeo until late into the night.”
DJs Maxonic and Pierre Ciseaux are set to perform at the event. Both of their Instagram pages display them in various nightclub settings. DJ Pierre Ciseaux’s most recent event before the church silent disco is set to be a “White Girl Music Party”, where attendees are promised they will “celebrate the songs we all know, love, and secretly sing along to at the top of our lungs”.
It is not clear whether food and alcohol will be served at the event, but the advertisement does not give any prohibition on their consumption. It also does not indicate a dress code and revellers are informed that photos and videos will be taken and published for “documentation purposes”.
Despite canon law stating that “only those things which serve to exercise or promote worship, piety, and religion are permitted in a sacred place; anything out of harmony with the holiness of the place is forbidden” (canon 1210), the parish priest has defended the decision. Fr Jan Soroka stated: “Even a silent disco can show in its own way that faith knows not only silence and contemplation, but also lightness and joy of life.” He further explained: “Where people laugh, dance, and are there for one another, the church becomes tangible.”
However, while the priest may permit the event, it is arguable that it could lead to the church requiring a penitential rite before worship resumes. Canon 1211 states that if a sacred place is violated by “gravely injurious actions” carried out there “with scandal to the faithful”, then “worship in them” is forbidden until the damage is repaired “by a penitential rite according to the norm of the liturgical books”. The decision would rest with the local bishop and remains unlikely, but it is a view some may take.
The event is reminiscent of the controversial 90s-themed silent discos held inside Canterbury Cathedral in February 2024. Whilst the Church of England generally is more lax about the use of its buildings, the event led to protests outside the Cathedral.
