Maredsous Sound Festival
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
Maredsous Abbey, a Benedictine abbey located in Denée, in the municipality of Anhée in the Province of Namur, is one of Belgium's leading spiritual and tourist destinations. The site employs more than 200 people during the high season and is also home to a school and a visitor centre.
The Maredsous Sound Festival is organised by the monastic community in partnership with the Diocese of Namur.
For its very first edition, held on 28 and 29 August 2026, the Maredsous Sound Festival exceeded all expectations. More than 10,000 people came to Maredsous Abbey over the course of the weekend, and Friday night, headlined by Portuguese priest and DJ Padre Guilherme, sold out several days in advance.
An international figure at the crossroads of electronic music and faith, Padre Guilherme delivered a set that will be remembered as the defining moment of this first edition — one that saw Benedictine monks join him on stage, in an image that has since travelled far beyond Belgium.
One of the most memorable moments of the weekend came when several members of the monastic community joined Padre Guilherme on stage, in the middle of his set, accompanying his music with a sung prayer.
Brother Benoît spontaneously coined the expression "techno-prayer" to describe the moment, while Father Abbot François Lear also joined Padre Guilherme behind the DJ booth — arguably the single most talked-about image of the entire festival.
Never before had Benedictine monks taken part in one of the Portuguese artist's concerts in this way: a genuine world first, made possible by the relationship of trust built beforehand between Padre Guilherme and the Maredsous community.
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