Alfredo Vicente Scherer was born in
Bom Princípio,
Rio Grande do Sul, as the second child of Peter and Anna (née Opermann) Scherer. His nephew
Odilo Scherer became
Archbishop of São Paulo in 2007. He studied at the
seminary in
Porto Alegre and the
Pontifical Gregorian University in
Rome, where he was
ordained to the
priesthood on April 3, 1926. He then served as
private secretary to Archbishop
João Batista Becker until 1933, when he began
pastoral work in Porto Alegre. On 13 June 1946, Scherer was appointed the first
auxiliary bishop of Porto Alegre and
titular bishop of
Hemeria by
Pope Pius XII. However, Archbishop Becker died two days later, on 15 June, before Scherer received his
episcopal consecration. Scherer was named as his successor as
Archbishop of Porto Alegre on the following 30 December. He was consecrated on 23 February 1947, by Archbishop
Carlo Chiarlo,
Apostolic Nuncio to Brazil, with Bishops
José Baréa and
José de Almeida Baptista serving as
co-consecrators. In reference to
divorce, the Archbishop once called for "prayers to God to take away from Brazil the calamity which threatens Christian families". Scherer also gave weekly radio broadcasts against "
anarchists and followers of
Communism" within the Church. He was strongly opposed to
liberation theology, From 1962 to 1965, he attended the
Second Vatican Council and was recognized as one of the leading
conservative prelates during the 1960s and 1970s. However, Scherer did support the succession of the
left-wing João Goulart as
president of Brazil following the resignation of
Jânio Quadros, as required by the
Constitution of Brazil.
Pope Paul VI created him
cardinal priest of
Nostra Signora de La Salette in the
consistory of 28 April 1969. Scherer was one of the
cardinal electors who participated in the
conclaves of
August and
October 1978, which elected Popes
John Paul I and
John Paul II respectively. In January 1980, he was stabbed and robbed by unknown assailants, who left him in a ditch outside Porto Alegre when he could not meet their demands for more money. He resigned as archbishop on 29 August 1981. Scherer died in
Porto Alegre on 8 March 1996 at age 93. He was buried near the altar of the
Cathedral of Porto Alegre. In 2003, a commemorative site was arranged at his place of birth in Bom Princípio. He was
provedor of the Fraternity of the Holy House of Mercy until his death, he was also a member of the Rio Grande do Sul Institute of History and Geography. ==References==