At the age of 28, however, an operation resulted in her being declared clinically dead, leading to a mystical experience from which she awakened resolved to devote herself to the poor, leaving her upscale life and donating her estate to assisting the indigent.
Argentina, a country with a white majority and with a strong European influence, is also home to numerous communities of Aborigines who, for the most part, live in very poor conditions.
She began her humanitarian labour among them providing shelter, and nutritional, medical, educational and other assistance with her own funds and through donations, living in a small recreational vehicle received as a gift.
She established the Saint Francis of Assisi Home for Pilgrims in 1978, extending the reach of her efforts to the mentally handicapped and homeless AIDS victims, and growing to serve an average of 7,000 hot meals daily.
An encounter with the Argentine Ambassador in Russia also led to a stay in that country during the early 1990s, helping build housing during the turmoil that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union.