Blessed Pope Victor III
Blessed Pope Victor III (Latin: Victor III; born Daufer, later Desiderius; c. 1026/1027, Benevento, Italy — died 16 September 1087, Monte Cassino, Italy) was Pope from May 1086 until his death. He is best known as the great reforming Abbot of Monte Cassino (1058–1086), under whose leadership the abbey entered what historians call its golden age: the basilica was rebuilt and consecrated (1071), a famous school of manuscript painting and mosaic flourished, and the Cassinese congregation expanded its spiritual influence across southern Italy. As pope he had little time to govern: elected reluctantly and never fully at ease with the political conflicts of the Investiture Controversy, he was consecrated bishop only three months before his death. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 23 July 1887; his feast is kept on 16 September.[1][2][3][4]
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Pope Victor III
| Blessed Pope Victor III | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | September 16 |
| Profession | Pope; Abbot; monk; reformer; builder |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Order of Saint Benedict (Benedictines); Cassinese Congregation |
| Patronage | Abbey of Monte Cassino; Benedictine monasticism; patrons of the arts |
| Attributes | Black Benedictine habit; papal tiara; model of the rebuilt Monte Cassino basilica |
| Birthplace | Benevento, Campania, Italy |
| Death Place | Abbey of Monte Cassino, Italy |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes; died September 16, 1087, at Monte Cassino, which he had returned to after his brief pontificate |
| Primary Shrine | Abbey of Monte Cassino, Cassino (Frosinone), Italy |
| Liturgical Class | Not in the General Roman Calendar; observed at Monte Cassino and by the Benedictine Congregation of Monte Cassino |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Birth and early life
Daufer (also recorded as Daufari or Epifanio) was born around 1026 or 1027 at Benevento, in southern Italy, to a family of Lombard nobility with connections to the princes who had ruled Benevento before the Norman conquest.[1][4] According to his hagiography, he showed from boyhood a temperament drawn toward the contemplative life. As a young man he twice attempted to adopt the life of a hermit in the mountains around Benevento, and twice was restrained by his father, who intended him for a worldly career.[4]
After his father's death, Daufer was finally free to pursue the religious life. He spent time at several monasteries — including the island monastery of La Cava, near Salerno — before gravitating toward the greatest Benedictine house in Italy, the Abbey of Monte Cassino, which he entered around 1047–1055, taking the name Desiderius.[1][2] His gifts were immediately apparent, and he rose rapidly through the monastic community.
Abbot of Monte Cassino (1058–1086)
When Pope Stephen IX, who had himself been abbot of Monte Cassino before his election as pope, died in March 1058, Desiderius was chosen as his successor as abbot.[2][4] He was appointed by the cardinals and confirmed by Pope Nicholas II, who also made him a Cardinal-Priest (of the title Santa Cecilia in Trastevere) in 1059 — a rank he held while remaining in his abbey.[1]
The twenty-eight years of Desiderius's abbacy (1058–1086) are regarded by historians as the golden age of Monte Cassino.[3][2] He rebuilt the abbey church from its foundations, completing a magnificent new basilica decorated with mosaics and bronze doors executed by artisans brought from Constantinople and Amalfi; the consecration took place on 1 October 1071, attended by Pope Alexander II and a large assembly of southern Italian nobles and clergy.[4][1] The rebuilt basilica became one of the most influential architectural monuments of the period: its plan, its dedication to using Byzantine craftsmen alongside local ones, and the programme of mosaic decoration that Desiderius commissioned profoundly influenced the art of the Norman churches of Sicily and southern Italy in the following century.
Desiderius also fostered the scriptorium at Monte Cassino, which under his direction became one of the most important centres of manuscript production in Europe, developing the distinctive Beneventan script and producing illuminated manuscripts that are today among the most treasured in Italian libraries.[2] He attracted scholars and artists, presided over an expansion of the monastery's dependent houses, and maintained cordial relations with the Norman rulers of southern Italy (above all Robert Guiscard) while simultaneously adhering to the Gregorian reform movement led by Pope Gregory VII.[1]
Relationship with Gregory VII and the Investiture Controversy
Desiderius was a committed supporter of the Gregorian reform and a friend and confidant of Pope Gregory VII, who relied on him as a diplomatic intermediary with the Norman princes and in negotiations with the Eastern Church.[4] He accompanied Gregory in his conflicts with the Emperor Henry IV during the Investiture Controversy, and was with the pope during his final exile in Salerno, where Gregory died in May 1085. Gregory is reported to have singled out Desiderius, along with Hugh of Lyon and Anselm of Aosta, as among the men best fitted to lead the Church.[1]
Election as pope
After Gregory VII's death the cardinals and the reforming party struggled to elect a new pope capable of resisting the antipope Clement III (who held Rome with the support of Henry IV). Desiderius, universally respected and known for holiness, was their choice, but he resisted strongly: he was elderly, unwell, and temperamentally unsuited to the rough-and-tumble of papal politics. He was first elected at a synod of cardinals at Capua in May 1086, taking the name Victor III, but immediately withdrew to Monte Cassino.[2][1] Only after further pressure from cardinals and Norman princes did he agree to be consecrated bishop and pope, which occurred at Rome on 9 June 1087.[4]
Victor III held a brief synod at Benevento in August 1087, confirming excommunications against the antipope's supporters and calling for a Norman military expedition against the Muslim forces in North Africa (which actually took place, with partial success, at Mahdia). He then returned to Monte Cassino, where he died on 16 September 1087, only a few months after his episcopal consecration.[1][3]
He was buried at Monte Cassino, where his tomb became a focus of veneration. His Dialogues — three books of anecdotes about the miracles at Monte Cassino in the previous century — are an important source for the spiritual history of the Benedictine reform.[2]
Significant events
- Born c. 1026/1027 at Benevento; noble Lombard family.
- Entered Monte Cassino after earlier attempts at the eremitic life.
- Elected Abbot of Monte Cassino, 1058; created Cardinal-Priest by Nicholas II, 1059.
- Rebuilt Monte Cassino basilica; consecrated October 1, 1071.
- Fostered the Monte Cassino scriptorium and Beneventan manuscript tradition.
- Close collaborator of Pope Gregory VII.
- Reluctantly elected pope at Capua (May 1086); withdrew repeatedly.
- Consecrated bishop and pope at Rome, June 9, 1087.
- Synod of Benevento (August 1087); promoted Norman crusade against Mahdia.
- Died at Monte Cassino, September 16, 1087.
- Beatified by Pope Leo XIII, July 23, 1887.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Benevento, Campania, Italy
Death location: Abbey of Monte Cassino, Italy
Notable location: Birthplace of Daufer (Desiderius), later Pope Victor III (Benevento, Campania, Italy)
Notable location: Abbey of which he was abbot 1058–1086 and where he died; his primary shrine (Abbey of Monte Cassino, Cassino, Italy)
Notable location: Where he was consecrated pope (June 9, 1087) and briefly held office (Rome, Italy)
Notable location: Where he was first elected pope (May 1086) at a synod of cardinals (Capua, Italy)
Notable location: Cathedral of his home city, associated with his early life (Benevento Cathedral, Benevento, Italy)
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Shrines
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Canonization
Beatification
The long-standing veneration of Victor III at Monte Cassino was formally confirmed by Pope Leo XIII on 23 July 1887.[1][3] Leo XIII, who shared Gregory X's era enthusiasm for rehabilitating medieval reformers, beatified a number of popes and holy abbots during his long pontificate, and Victor III — the abbot-pope whose holiness and cultural achievement had never been forgotten at Monte Cassino — was a natural choice. He has not been canonized.
Feast day
September 16 (anniversary of his death)
Veneration
Blessed Victor III is venerated above all at the Abbey of Monte Cassino, the community he served for nearly thirty years as monk and abbot. He is remembered as the man who oversaw the physical and spiritual renaissance of the mother-house of Benedictine monasticism and as a participant in the great reform of the medieval Church. In art he is represented in the black Benedictine habit with papal insignia, sometimes holding a model of the rebuilt Monte Cassino basilica.[4][2]
Prayers
Authored
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Intercessory
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External links
- Wikipedia – Pope Victor III
- New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia – Pope Blessed Victor III
- Britannica – Blessed Victor III
- Encyclopedia.com (NCE) – Victor III, Pope
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 "Pope Victor III," Wikipedia.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Victor III, Pope," New Catholic Encyclopedia, via Encyclopedia.com.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Blessed Victor III," Britannica.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 "Pope Blessed Victor III," New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia.