Isabella Canori Mora was an 18th century Italian wife and mother of a family, and also a Trinitarian tertiary and mystic, proclaimed blessed by John Paul II in 1994. A woman of great fame in Rome at the time for her conjugal fidelity, her wisdom and her help to the most needy, she is buried in the church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.

Isabella (Elisabetta) Canori was born in Rome in 1774 into a Christian and well-to-do family, although the economic situation became less favourable, which led her parents to entrust her education to the Augustinian nuns of Cascia. There she stood out for her intelligence, her deep interior life and her spirit of penance.

At the age of 21 she married a young lawyer, Cristobal Mora, and they had four children, two of whom died a few days after birth.

Although Elizabeth came to the marriage convinced, Christopher fell in love with another woman and squandered his fortune with her. And, although he did not separate, he left his family in a situation of abandonment and severe poverty.

Nevertheless, Elizabeth always responded faithfully, treated Christopher with patience, forgave him and offered prayers in the hope of his conversion, while she set to work to raise her daughters Marianna and Luciana and pay off her debts.

In 1801, Elizabeth suffered a mysterious illness that brought her to the brink of death, and was later inexplicably cured, revealing her first mystical experience. Elizabeth was granted the gift of vision and prophecy, and offered sacrifices for the Pope, for Rome and for the Church at the time of the Napoleonic persecution.

In 1807, Elizabeth Canori entered the Third Order of the Most Holy Trinity, the lay branch of the Trinitarians, where she met Anna Maria Taigi, also a Trinitarian tertiary and mystic and one of the most famous women in Rome at the time.

Elizabeth deepened her understanding of Trinitarian spirituality and offered her life for the peace and holiness of the Church, the salvation of sinners and the conversion of her husband.

Her Christian virtues and her reputation for holiness spread throughout Rome and nearby towns, and her home became a point of reference for all those seeking material help and spiritual support, especially families in need. The poor, but also citizens, politicians and even the Pope turned to her for advice.

Elizabeth Canori died in 1825 and was buried in the crypt of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, where her relics are still venerated. The urn containing her remains is located under the main altar of the church.

Shortly after her death, and as she had predicted, her husband converted, joined the Trinitarian Tertiary Order and was subsequently ordained a priest in the Conventual Franciscans.

Elizabeth Canori was beatified in 1994, the World Year of the Family. Pope John Paul proclaimed her a model for Christian families for her fidelity to the sacrament of marriage in the midst of her marital hardships, for her Christian upbringing of her daughters and for her husband's conversion.

She will be declared a saint when a miracle is certified through her intercession. Her liturgical memorial is celebrated on 4 February.