Antoine Koecher (1828-1894)
Antoine Koecher (1828-1894) was born on 10 September 1828 in Troisvierges. He was ordained as a priest in 1853 and appointed vicar to the parish of Grevenmacher later that same year. In 1857, he was appointed as vicar to Notre-Dame, before accepting the position of curate in Pfaffenthal. Though he was offered the Deanship of Bettembourg, he turned it down, preferring to remain as the curate of Pfaffenthal. Due to ill health, he stepped down from his position, three days before his death on 4 December 1894. In 1861, when he was appointed to his position in Pfaffenthal, he founded the "St Matthäus Bauverein" Church Building Council with the aim of extending the church and building a new presbytery. The new Saint Matthew Church (Église de Saint-Mathieu) was consecrated in 1872. Koecher continued his efforts, acquiring new altars and an organ for the church. In 1881, Koecher set up the Ste Cécile choir foundation. He had enlisted Laurent Menager as the organist for his parish. His sermons proved highly popular. He set up a fund to purchase books for impoverished children. He came to the aid of the sick and the poor in his parish. When he died, the members of the Church Building Council erected his tomb opposite the choir of the Chapelle des bons malades. The inscription on his tomb reads: "Wenn ich gelebt, wie ich gelehrt /, dann ist der Himmel mein, /Wenn Ihr gelebt, wie ich gelehrt, dann kommt auch ihr hinein" (If I have lived as I have taught, then Heaven is mine; If you have lived as I have taught, you too will gain entry there).
The monument is made of granite with a sclype finish. The stela features a limestone plaque bearing the symbols of the eucharist. An epitaph worded in rhyme is engraved on both sides of the depiction of the chalice and host. Beneath the chalice is the inscription: "hier ruht der how(ürdgiste) Herr Antonius Koecher" (Here Lies the Most Honourable Antoine Koecher). The stela forms the base of a crucifix with trefoil branches. The corpus and INRI panel are made of porcelain. Jean Théodore Mergen (1885-1942), a sculptor from Limpertsberg, designed and signed the monument.
