With Novus Ordo approval, of course…
The Sacred and the Profane: Vienna Cemetery Church Turned Into Venue for ‘Silent Disco’ Event
As far as New Church insanities go, you may think you’ve seen it all, but we suspect the present post will shatter that conviction.
The Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof) in Vienna is the main graveyard of the Austrian capital. At over 330,000 individual grave sites and a total of about 3 million people interred since its inception in 1874, it is one of the largest cemeteries in the world. Among those whose remains are located there we find such famous names as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Johannes Brahms.
Although the Zentralfriedhof is not a Catholic cemetery, there is a Catholic church there (now occupied by the Novus Ordo establishment). It is dedicated to St. Charles Borromeo and is staffed and operated by the post-Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna.
The rector of the beautiful St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery Church is the Rev. Jan Soroka, C.R. He had just been appointed to the role a few months earlier by Josef Grünwidl, who was then the so-called ‘apostolic administrator’ of the vacant diocese and has since become its ‘archbishop’, having succeeded the notorious ‘Cardinal’ Christoph Schönborn.
The following brief clip shows drone footage of the beautiful cemetery church:
.
Surely it does not require the virtue of Faith but merely some minimal human decency to understand that neither a cemetery nor a church are proper locations for dancing and partying.
Nevertheless, both the secular authority in charge of the cemetery as well as the ‘Roman Catholic’ authority in the person of Fr. Soroka thought it would be a great idea to make St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery Church into a venue for a so-called ‘silent disco’, where guests listen, dance, and sing to music played by DJs over wireless headphones. The music can only be heard over the headsets — hence ‘silent’ for anyone not wearing one — and patrons can switch between different DJs/channels, depending on what style of music they prefer.
The headphones-only disco was organized and produced by Silent Disco Austria. On their promo page for this event, which took place on Friday, Apr. 17, 2026, from 8:00 pm to 2:00 am, the organizers announced excitedly: “In April, we’re turning Vienna’s Central Cemetery into a silent disco! We’ll dance together and party late into the night at the Cemetery Church of St. Borromeo!” (translation via DeepL.com).
The price of admission was 15 € per ticket (ca. $17). All 500 sold before the event began. A Citizen Go petition to ‘Abp.’ Grünwidl to stop the sacrilegious spectacle at St. Charles’ was unsuccessful. The archdiocese claimed it has no influence over what takes place there (yet its official web site lists the church as being part of the ‘Divine Love’ parish family).
The profane party was not only advertised by the organizers. The official cemetery web site promoted the shameful shindig as well:
Silent Disco at Vienna’s Central Cemetery
An Extraordinary Musical Experience
When Silence Dances: April 17, 2026
Experience a Silent Disco in one of Vienna’s most impressive Art Nouveau buildings: the Church of St. Borromeo at Vienna’s Central Cemetery. On April 17, the historic church interior will be transformed for one evening into an atmospheric, tranquil, yet energetic dance venue.
How the Silent Disco Works
- Each person receives wireless headphones at the entrance.
- Two DJs, two channels—you can choose spontaneously which music style you’d like to dance to. Genres: House, Electronic, Hip-Hop & Pop // Alternative, Indie, and Rock
- Without headphones, the space remains almost silent—this format combines celebration with consideration and a respectful approach to the venue.
A Special Atmosphere
The Art Nouveau church designed by Max Hegele (1908–1911) is one of the architectural highlights of Vienna’s Central Cemetery. Its impressive dome and the clear spatial effect create an extraordinary backdrop for this unique event.
The Central Cemetery as a Cultural and Social Space
With offerings such as urban gardening, exercise areas, live music, and guided tours, Vienna’s cemeteries showcase the diversity of the site. The Silent Disco builds on this and invites visitors to experience the historic surroundings in a new way.
(Source: friedhoefewien.at; translation via DeepL.com.)
It is absolutely flabbergasting to see people who organize DJs and for dancing/partying inside a Catholic church at a cemetery assure us of their “consideration and … respectful approach to the venue” — how touching! Never mind the frantic and lewd body movements, the immodest and provocative clothing, the audible singing-along that inevitably takes place, the presence perhaps of some occasional emotional outbursts, etc.
According to an article in the Austrian Der Standard, just after 10 pm, partiers in the church could be heard singing aloud the refrain of the song being played by one of the DJs: “You, your sex is on fire!” Almost an hour later, the dancing crowd joined in the vulgar chorus of a German song, as reported by the Austrian edition of the German Die Zeit newspaper on Apr. 28.
Oh, and then, of course, beverages were permitted on the ‘dance floor’, including, it seems, alcoholic ones.
This was the scene at St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery Church the night of Apr. 17, 2026, in Vienna
(image: Lenny Steinhauer for Der Standard)
A 2-minute video report on the despicable misuse of St. Charles Borromeo Church for a disco night was published by the local Viennese TV station W24. Unfortunately, we cannot include it here; you must CLICK ON THIS LINK to view it. It provides a very good idea of what transpired at the event, what the atmosphere was like, and just how ‘silent’ it really was.
The following 15-second clip is from the Instagram page of Silent Disco Austria and also shows scenes recorded at the Apr. 17 party (beware of potentially immodest content):
View this post on Instagram
A brief news report published by W24 says:
Lisa Pernkopf, spokesperson for Vienna Cemeteries, emphasizes that the dignity of the location is be preserved, yet there are “new event formats like yoga at the cemetery or urban gardening to reach new target groups.”
The silent disco invites one to rediscover the locality [of the graveyard], break down barriers, and take in the historic environment more consciously. The aim is to bring young people to this place of rest for the deceased, which during the day also serves as a parkland with impressive flora and fauna and as a place of relaxation. This diversity is meant to enable [both] mourning and celebration at the cemetery.
(Source: “Silent Disco bringt leise Beats auf den Zentralfriedhof”, w24.at; our translation with help of AI.)
Clearly, this world is beyond hope, humanly speaking. But while one would perhaps expect a certain tone-deafness for the sacred by unbelievers, what really takes the cake is that the event had the backing of the church’s rector or pastor:
For church rector Jan Soroka, the event is a sign that the church is a place of encounter. “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,” says Soroka. “Where people laugh, dance, and are there for one another, the church becomes tangible,” the pastor is quoted as saying in a press release from Vienna Cemeteries Ltd. Life in the cemetery transcends all boundaries and “shows us that life continues after death, that we are called to eternal life,” the cemetery chaplain adds.
(“Silent Disco at the Central Cemetery turns Church into dance hall”, Catholic Conclave, Mar. 13, 2026. Translation of German original: “Silent Disco am Zentralfriedhof macht Kirche zum Tanzsaal”, Kathpress, Mar. 12, 2026.)
Only God knows what goes on behind the foreheads of Novus Ordo clerics like Soroka, but it’s definitely not Catholicism.
By the way: According to the Zeit report referenced earlier, one of the songs played at the silent disco was AC/DC’s infamous Highway to Hell.
That about sums it up.
Title image: composite with elements from kna.de (Inga Kilian), silentdisco.at, and Silent Disco Austria via Facebook)
Licenses: paid, fair use, and fair use
;
No Comments
Be the first to start a conversation