MORITZ MESCHILER. – Jesuit, ascetical writer, born at Briga (Switzerland) on 6 Sept. 1830, died at Exaeten (Holland) on 2 Dec. 1912. For many years he was master of novices at Gorheim, Münster, Exaeten, and Blyenbeck (1867–1916); provincial of Germany (1881–84), and from 1892 to 1906 at Fiesole assistant to the General for Germany. He spent his last years devoted to spiritual direction and his work as a writer in Luxembourg and Exaeten.
The career he pursued and his keen powers of observation offered him in ascetical theology a vast field in which to develop both its theory and practice, grounding it on secure rational and theological foundations and employing, in presenting it, a clear and elegant style that convinces and captivates. He remains to this day one of the most favoured authors in the field of spirituality.
He contributed numerous articles to Stimmen aus Maria-Laach and wrote: Die Gabe des hl. Pfungstfestes (Freiburg im Br. 1887); Das Leben unseres Herrn Jesu Christi in Betrachtungen (2 vols., 1818), followed by many editions and translations; Das Leben des hl. Aloysius V. Gonzaga (ibid. 1893; Italian trans., Turin 1923); Aus dem katholischen Kirchenjahr (2 vols., 1893); Der göttliche Heiland. Ein Lebensbild (ibid. 1906); Drei Grundlehren des geistlichen Lebens (ibid. 1909); Das Exercitienbuch des hl. Ignatius (1st ed. outside commerce; later posthumous, ed. W. Sierp [3 vols., ibid. 1926–28; Italian trans., Turin 1934]).