Portrait of Pope Victor III

Pope Victor III

Head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1086 to 1087

Lived
1027–1087

Updated September 2026

About Pope Victor III

Pope Victor III, born Dauferio Epifani Del Zotto, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 May 1086 to his death. He was the successor of Pope Gregory VII. Prior to becoming pope he had held the important post of abbot of the great monastery of Montecassino, under his monastic name of Desiderius and during those years played a historically important role.

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.