GIOVANNI XIV, POPE. - Born in Pavia, elected in Dec. 983, died 20 Aug. 984. Peter Canepanova, bishop of Pavia from c. 978 and chancellor of the Kingdom of Italy, was elected to succeed the imperial-backed Pope, Benedict VII, by Otto II. After the latter’s death (7 Dec. 983), Boniface VII, of the Crescentii faction, reoccupied the papal see (Apr. 984) and imprisoned John XIV in Castel S. Angelo, where he either starved to death or was killed. His epitaph in St Peter’s praised his eloquence, gentleness, and charity.
Enciclopedia Cattolica