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Many objects ornament the halls of St. Olaf College’s Boe Memorial Chapel. The Holtkamp pipe organ that sits proudly at the altar, the dozens of flags that line the nave, and the stained glass windows that spectacularly filter rays of light to adorn the faces of community members at the various functions happening on campus. But in the narthex of the chapel, there is a special object that if you don’t look close enough, you might miss — an Ethiopian orthodox cross, donated by Amare Gizaw ‘60. 

St. Olaf has a long history of international students and global outreach, from Lutheran pastors visiting East Asia to the 320 international students who are a vibrant part of the student body today. However, back in the 1960s, there were not as many international students. Most international students would either be U.S. citizens brought up abroad in missionary families or the children of military service members, studying in their citizenship country for the first time. Thus, Gizaw was one of the relatively few international students at the college when he arrived on campus in the fall of 1956. And the reason he chose to come to St. Olaf was because of a visit by a major international figure. 

In the summer of 1954, the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I, undertook an official state visit to the United States. He was invited to the United States by President Dwight Eisenhower, and addressed Congress on May 4. Some of the major cities that Selassie visited were New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Paul, and San Francisco, among others. So how was it that he made a day trip to Northfield, Minnesota?

Selassie was accompanied on his trip to Northfield by St. Olaf alumnus Joseph Simonson ‘25, who was the United States Ambassador to Ethiopia from 1953 to 1957. Additionally, the son of one of Selassie’s communications ministers, Selassie Teffasa, was graduating from Carleton that spring. It wouldn’t have been hard to convince Selassie to make a quick pit stop in the town of Cows, Colleges, and Contentment on June 9, 1954. 

Sitting in a bright red convertible, Selassie and his party of 50 were greeted by a throng of locals along Division Street, before turning right at Bridge Square to meet with officials at Carleton. 

At St. Olaf, a tea reception for the emperor was given in Mellby Hall. St. Olaf President Clemens Granskou and his wife, Ella, greeted the emperor alongside several deans and faculty members.

Selassie then departed the college for a dinner reception in the Twin Cities and a flight to Seattle, but not before signing his name in the Mellby Hall guestbook. His signature can still be seen today in the tome, which is currently in the St. Olaf Archives. A Minneapolis Star article quoted Selassie as saying he “would like to stay three more days in Minnesota.” Having loved Northfield and Minnesota so much, it was no wonder that he promised to sponsor an Ethiopian student to attend St. Olaf College after his visit!

Ultimately, that student was Gizaw. At the October 21, 1956, Sunday morning chapel service, a special presentation was held. Gizaw, dressed in traditional Ethiopian attire, presented a hand-wrought Ethiopian cross to Granskou and College Pastor Clifford Swanson. In the Ethiopian Eastern Orthodox church (which is one of the oldest branches of Christianity in the world), a similar cross is often used by the priest to greet the congregation and bestow his blessings upon them. 

Today, the ornate cross still sits in the same case, above the interior entrance of Boe Chapel. Next time you are on campus, see if you can spot it.