At that time there was no active cloistered religious life, so she decided to wear a black robe and live with other women in a small community.

[3] Guided by the Jesuit priest Gaspar Juarez, she devoted her time to assisting parents in the instruction of their children and also catered to the sick and to the poor.

After the success of the retreats in those places, she travelled to Buenos Aires in September 1779, where she met with imperial officials, who refused her the task of restoration.

Her work became well-known not only in the viceroyalty, but in France, such as in the convent of Saint-Denis in Paris, where the prioress was the aunt of King Louis XVI.

Pope Benedict XVI recognized that she had lived a model Christian life of heroic virtue, and on 1 July 2010 proclaimed her to be Venerable.

[9] After it was confirmed that the cause would receive papal approval an article on 10 February 2016 indicated that the actual beatification Mass would be celebrated either in September or October 2016.

[5] In a mass celebrated at St. Peter's Basilica on 11 February 2024, Pope Francis canonized María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, Argentina's first female saint.