Gregory VII, born Hildebrand of Sovana around 1020, was a Benedictine monk who served as the Pope of the Catholic Church from 1073 to 1085. Before his election by acclamation, he worked as a papal administrator and the Abbot of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. He is most famous for initiating the Gregorian Reform, a movement aimed at increasing papal authority and cleaning up ecclesiastical corruption. His leadership was marked by intense political conflicts, particularly his repeated excommunications of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV.