Pope Victor III

Timeline

1. c. 1026–1058Benevento · CampaniaDauferius was born into a Langobard noble family in Benevento in southern Italy. Against his family's wishes he chose a religious life, studying at Monte Cassino and various monasteries in southern Italy, where he gradually drew attention for his learning and organizational talent. He formally entered Monte Cassino in 1056 and was elected abbot two years later.
2. 1058–1086Monte Cassino Abbey · LazioDesiderius served as abbot of Monte Cassino for nearly thirty years, generously patronizing art and architecture, overseeing the rebuilding of the abbey cathedral, and bringing in Byzantine mosaic craftsmen, making the abbey one of the most important cultural and manuscript-producing centers in western Europe at the time. He took an active part in church reform, maintained close relations with Pope Gregory VII, and went to Rome in 1059 to preside over a papal election.
3. 1086–1087Rome · LazioIn May 1086, after repeatedly declining, Desiderius was elected pope by the College of Cardinals and took the name Victor III. His reign was extremely short and controversial: anti-reformers raised the antipope Clement III against him, and Victor III returned to Monte Cassino after only briefly handling affairs in Rome. He died of illness at Monte Cassino on September 16, 1087, and was declared blessed by Pope Leo XIII in 1887.