John XV

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John XV

pope [986-996]

Also known as: John XVI

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Died:: March 996, Rome

Title / Office:: pope (985-996)

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John XV (or XVI) (died March 996, Rome) was the pope from 985 to 996, who carried out the first solemn canonization in history by papal decree. His election, August 985, came during one of the darkest periods in papal history, shadowed by the murders of the popes Benedict VI and John XIV by the antipope Boniface VII. Boniface had been the candidate of the powerful Roman Crescentii family, and his sudden death in 985 consequently caused the family a political setback. Crescentius II’s success in swaying John’s election revived that family’s good fortune. John’s pontificate, marked by greed and ...(100 of 152 words)

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