SCHERER, RUDOLF RITTER von. - Canonist, born at Graz on 11 Aug. 1845, died at Vienna on 21 Dec. 1918.
He studied law and, for two years, theology at Graz; in 1869 he was ordained priest.
He attended the University of Vienna, where he obtained a doctorate in theology (1875), with the dissertation: De Patriarchatus Constantinopolitani historia. Substitute professor of Church history in the Theological Faculty of Graz (1874-75), from 1876 he became full professor of ecclesiastical law. He was marked by the historical school, and his works reflect its errors. Among his numerous works, the following stand out: Das Eherecht bei Benedikt Levita und Pseudotsidor (Graz 1879); Von der Prozessfähigkeit der kirchlichen Institute, in Archiv für kath. Kirchenrecht, 47 (1882), pp. 3-52; Die irregularitas ex delicto homicidii, ibid., 49 (1883), pp. 37-63; Incorporatio plena oder minus plena?, ibid., 53 (1885), pp. 105-125; Handbuch des Kirchenrechts (Graz 1886); Zur Geschichte des canonischen Eherechts, in Archiv für kath. Kirchenrecht, 65 (1891), pp. 353-90.