Francis Mezger (25 October 1632 – 11 December 1701) was an Austrian

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

academic and writer, of

St. Peter's Archabbey, Salzburg St Peter's Abbey (), or St Peter's Archabbey (German: ''Erzabtei Stift Sankt Peter'', ), is a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery and former cathedral in the Austrian city of Salzburg. It is considered one of the oldest monasteries in ...

Life

Mezger was born at

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

. He took vows in 1651, and was ordained priest in 1657. He taught philosophy at the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (, ), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (federal state), Salzburg State, ...

in 1659, and became regent of the '' convictus'' and secretary of the university in 1661. He taught philosophy again from 1663 to 1665; and then moral theology until 1668. From 1669 to 1688 he taught various branches at the Bavarian monastery of Ettal and at his own monastery. From 1688 until his death he was master of novices and director of clerics at his monastery. He died at

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. He wrote the following philosophical treatises: *"Philosophia rationalis rationibus explicata" (Salzburg, 1660); *"Anima rationibus philosophicis animata et explicata" (ib., 1661); *"Philosophia naturals rationibus naturalibus elucidata" (ib., 1661); *"Manuale philosophicum" (ib., 1665); *"Homomicrocosmus" (ib., 1665). The following are some of his translations: *"Philosophia sacra" (ib., 1678), from the French of the Parisian Capuchin Ivo; *"Heiliges Benediktiner-Jahr" (2 volumes, Munich 1690), from the Latin; *"Dioptra politices religiosæ" (Salzburg, 1694), and "Exercitia spiritualia" (ib., 1693), both from the French of the

Maurist The Congregation of St. Maur, often known as the Maurists, were a congregation of French Benedictines, established in 1621, and known for their high level of scholarship. The congregation and its members were named after Saint Maurus (died 565), a ...

Joachim le Contat; *"Succinctæ meditationes christianæ" (4 vols., ib., 1695), from the French of the Maurist

Claude Martin Major-General Claude Martin (5 January 1735 – 13 September 1800) was a French army officer who served in the French Indies Company, French and later East India Company, British East India companies in colonial India. Martin rose to the rank of ...

; *"Via regia studiosæ juventutis ad veram sapientiam" (Frankfort, 1699), from the Italian; and a few others.

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: **, Collect.-Blätter zur Gesch. der ehemaligen Benedictiner-Universität Salzburg (Kempten, 1890), 212–218; **, Professbuch der Benedictiner Abtei S. Peter in Salzburg (Salsburg, 1906), 53–58, 65–68. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mezger, Francis 1632 births 1701 deaths Austrian Benedictines Academic staff of the University of Salzburg 17th-century Austrian writers