Nicolaus van Esch (Eschius) (1507 in

Oisterwijk Oisterwijk () is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands. Population centres * Haaren * Heukelom *Moergestel *Oisterwijk Topography ''Dutch topographic map of the municipality of Oisterwijk, 2021'' Transportation * Railway ...

near

's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of th ...

, the Netherlands – 19 July 1578) was a Dutch

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

theologian and mystical writer.

Life

After finishing his classical studies in the school of the

Hieronymites The Hieronymites, also formally known as the Order of Saint Jerome ( la, Ordo Sancti Hieronymi; abbreviated OSH), is a Catholic cloistered religious order and a common name for several congregations of hermit monks living according to the Rule o ...

, he studied philosophy, theology, and canon law at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...

, but refused to take his doctor's degree. In 1530 he was ordained priest, and then settled in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

in order to devote himself to higher studies and the practice of

Christian perfection Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...

. There he became the private tutor of a number of young men, mainly university students.

Peter Canisius Peter Canisius ( nl, Pieter Kanis; 8 May 1521 – 21 December 1597) was a Dutch Jesuit Catholic priest. He became known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Swit ...

and Lawrence Surius are noted among his pupils. In Cologne, too, he made close friendships with several members of the

Carthusian Order The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its ...

, among them Johann Landsberger, Gerhard Homontanus, and Theoderich and Bruno Loher. Though his health did not allow him to become a member of the order, he lived in the monastery, for a time at least, and followed its rule of life as closely as possible. In 1538 Nicolaus was appointed pastor of the

Béguinage A beguinage, from the French term ''béguinage'', is an architectural complex which was created to house beguines: lay religious women who lived in community without taking vows or retiring from the world. Originally the beguine institution was ...

Diest Diest () is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Situated in the northeast of the Hageland region, Diest neighbours the provinces of Antwerp to its North, and Limburg to the East and is situated around 60 ...

; after a year he surrendered his charge for a time, but took it up again, with such success that after his death he was commonly spoken of as the saintly Father Eschius. He was also instrumental in founding several diocesan seminaries according to the rules laid down by the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

Works

His works include: *"Introductio in vitam introversam", effectively an introduction to a new edition of the "Templum animae" (Antwerp, 1563 etc.); *"Exercitia theologiae mysticae, seu exercitia quaedam pia, quae compendio hominem ad vitam perfectam instituendam juvare possunt" (Antwerp, 1563).

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Esch, Nicolaus Van 1507 births 1578 deaths 16th-century Dutch Roman Catholic theologians People from Oisterwijk Old University of Leuven alumni