JOHN XIV

born , Pavia, Lombardy died Aug. 20, 984, Rome original name Pietro Canepanova pope from 983 to 984. He was bishop of Pavia when chosen pope in November/December 983 by the Holy Roman emperor Otto II. His election was opposed by the powerful Roman Crescentii family, which supported Antipope Boniface VII. Boniface had been expelled by Otto but returned to Rome when Otto died (Dec. 7, 983). Aided by the Crescentii, he imprisoned John in the Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome, and presumably had him murdered, either by starvation or by poison. John's sole extant document is a letter to Archbishop Alo of Benevento, Italy, concerning church reform.