He was ordained to the priesthood in the diocese of Córdoba on 4 November 1866 at the age of 26 under Bishop José Vicente Ramírez de Arellano and celebrated his first Mass the following 10 December.

[7] Brochero was known to travel long distances in Argentina on the back of a mule dressed in a sombrero and a poncho to serve the needs of the Christian faith throughout his huge parish.

He cared for the sick during the cholera epidemic of 1867 and contracted leprosy during his travels; it was believed that it came from drinking yerba mate with some of the patients with the affliction.

[6] A Catholic newspaper later wrote of him: "It is known that Father Brochero contracted the sickness that took him to his tomb, because he visited at length and embraced an abandoned leper of the area".

[9] The cause of beatification commenced on 17 March 1967 under Pope Paul VI in Argentina which gave him the title Servant of God; the actual process started in 1968 which saw the gathering of both documents and witness testimonies that pertained to his life and virtues.

Pope John Paul II recognized that Brochero lived a life of heroic virtue and named him to be venerable on 19 April 2004.

The miracle involved Nicolas Flores who was in a vegetative state after a severe car crash at the age of thirteen and was cured through the intercession of Brochero.

Pope Francis – in his Angelus address on 15 September to mark the occasion – praised Brochero for his open heart to all and stated that "he knew the love of Jesus.