The missing Rosary beads

Dimitri Mitropoulos

Everything was ready in a packed auditorium in New York City’s Carnegie Hall when the conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos lifted his baton to start Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. However, to everyone’s surprise, after just a few bars, he stopped the orchestra and left the stage. Nobody had any idea what could have happened. These things don’t usually happen unless it’s an extreme emergency. Mitropoulos was known for his patience, humility and was known for his charitable contributions. But many in the audience thought he felt suddenly sick. And they all waited until he would reappear to start the symphony once more. He returned after a few minutes which seemed like an eternity. He smiled at the audience as if to say that he was sorry, and started the symphony with his usual passion and enthusiasm. At the end the applause was thunderous. Some of the journalists went searching for him after the concert to ask him the reason why he had left the podium. With utter simplicity, he said: ‘I had forgotten my Rosary beads, which I always carry in my pockets. Without them I feel very distant from God.’ In all of his concerts, Dimitri Mitropoulos always carried his Rosary beads in his pocket.