Letter from the Vatican Ambassador to Ethiopia.(1925)

"The Commander of St.Gorgorios with the Plaque"

was the Award Tessema received from the Pope in 1925.

The two Medals.

The Pope's Medal to Tessema was accompanied by this letter from the Vatican Ambassador to Ethiopia.

At a time When the Coptic church was the only legally recognized church for christians in Ethiopia,Tessema's intervention and his successful effort in convincing Lij Iyassu to allow Roman Catholics to worship with out fear, was appreciated by the Pope and his representative in Addis Ababa.

This picture is from the daily Addis Zemen news paper, which carried the news of Tessema's death in October of 1964 together with a brief history presented by the family.I do not have any reference document to the two medals he wore for this photo,but they are presumably from Emperor Hailesellassie.