pope from July 17 to Aug. 9, 1048. His brief reign, delayed by a rival claimant to the papal throne, occurred during a period when the German emperors and factions of the Roman nobility vied for control of the papacy.

He was bishop of Brixen when nominated (December 1047) by the German emperor Henry III to succeed Clement II, a diocese he continued to hold. In the previous month, however, the papal throne had been seized by Benedict IX, a member of the powerful Tusculani family of Rome. Benedict had been pope in 1045 when he relinquished the office. Benedict's attempt to reclaim the papacy failed when he was expelled on Henry's orders, and Damasus assumed the throne. Damasus died of malaria after reigning only 23 days.