Crescentius the Younger took the title of Patricius Romanorum, by which he meant to express that he was ruler in Rome, though not altogether independent of the imperial authority; he considered himself as a lieutenant of the Holy Roman Emperor.

[2] Meanwhile, the young Emperor Otto III assumed the reins of government, and in 996 made his first journey to Italy, induced by various considerations, especially by the appeals of Pope John XV.

The rebellious Romans, including Crescentius, who had embittered the last years of the pontificate of Pope John XV, were summoned to give an account of their doings.

Pope Gregory V, who wished to inaugurate his pontificate with acts of mercy, pleaded for the guilty, and the emperor withdrew his sentence of exile.

At Pavia he held a synod in February, 996, in which he pronounced sentence of excommunication against Crescentius, the usurper and invader of the Church of Rome.

Crescentius, far from being moved by these proceedings against him, completed his work of rebellion by appointing an antipope, Johannes Philagathos, Bishop of Piacenza, who had just returned from an embassy to Constantinople on behalf of Emperor Otto III.

John XVI was soon captured by the emissaries of the emperor; his nose and ears were cut off, his eyes and tongue were torn out, and in this pitiable condition he was made to ride backwards on an ass.

At the intercession of Saint Nilus the Younger, one of his countrymen, his life was spared: he was sent to the monastery of Fulda, in Germany, where he died about 1001.

Towards the end of April Castel Sant'Angelo was taken; Crescentius was made prisoner and executed and his corpse hung on a gibbet erected on Monte Mario.