ANSELMO d'ESCH. - Capuchin ascetical writer, b. at Esch-sur-la-Sure (Luxembourg), probably in 1710, d. at Mondorf on 21 Nov. 1783. Neither his family name nor the date of his religious profession (probably 1728) is known. He lived in the convent of Luxembourg, having failed to obtain permission from his superiors to go to the missions of Louisiana, then evangelized by the Capuchins of Champagne. He devoted himself to preaching and to the care of the sick and prisoners.
He published in Luxembourg, in French and German, highly esteemed collections of sermons and small ascetical works, among them: Le Chemin étroit du Ciel rendu facile par des pratiques familières qui conduisent à la perfection (1747); Der in den Todt betrübte und für den Menschen leydende Heiland, aller Welt zum Beispiel vorgestellet (1752); Dies sacerdotalis sanctificatus seu brevis digne celebrandi dieneque sanctificandi Methodus (1750); Die heilige Kreuz-Schul, Jesum als einen Meister der Vollkommenheit vorstellend in seinen Leiden, Kreuz und Sittenlehre (1771); La Mort Sainte ou Instructions édifiantes avec des prières conformes pour se préparer saintement à la mort (1777).