Pope John XV  Pope John XV (; died on 1 April 996) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from August 985 until his death. A Roman by birth, he was the first pope who canonized a saint. The origins of the investiture controversy stem from John XV's pontificate, when the dispute about the deposition of Archbishop Arnulf of Reims soured the relationship between the Capetian kings of France and the Holy See. John XV was the son of Leo, a Roman presbyter. Before he became pope in August 985, John was cardinal-priest of St. Vitalis. John XV's venality and nepotism allegedly made him very unpopular with the citizens of Rome. However, Joseph Brusher finds this unproven, as John XV had little authority in Rome at that time. Crescentius II, patrician of Rome, significantly hampered the pope's influence, but the presence of Empress Theophanu in Rome from 989 to 991 restrained Crescentius' ambition. John was a patron and protector of the reforming monks of Cluny. Through his legate Leo, he mediated a dispute between King Ethelred the Unready of England and Duke Richard the Fearless of Normandy. During this papacy, a serious dispute arose over the deposition in 991 of Archbishop Arnulf of Reims by French churchmen. This affair is sometimes read as an early groundswell of the conflicts between popes and the Capetians, new kings of France, that came to a head later in the Investiture Controversy. King Hugh Capet made Arnulf archbishop of Reims in 988. Arnulf was the scion of the previously ruling dynasty, the Carolingians. Arnulf's uncle Charles invaded to claim the throne for himself. Hugh considered Arnulf a turncoat and demanded his deposition by John XV. The turn of events outran the messages, when Hugh Capet captured both Charles and Archbishop Arnulf and convoked a synod at Reims in June 991, which obediently deposed Arnulf and chose as his successor Gerbert of Aurillac. At the synod, Bishop Arnulf of Orléans accused Pope John XV: Are any bold enough to maintain that the priests of the Lord all over the world are to take their law from monsters of guilt like these—men branded with ignominy, illiterate men, and ignorant alike of things human and divine? If, holy fathers, we are bound to weigh in the balance the lives, the morals, and the attainments of the humblest candidate for the priestly office, how much more ought we to look to the fitness of him who aspires to be the Lord and Master of all priests!