The youngest of 23 children, he was born into a very religious family of Friulian immigrants in Argentina.

His style, his coherence and his faith were elements of distinction that soon made him, as a pastor, a close collaborator of Pope Paul VI and John Paul II, in particular at the service of religious and lay people.

A common spirituality and pastoral approach also linked him to the future Pope Francis, when he was still a cardinal, who said of him: «When he had to give something, advice, or anything else, he did it with all his heart».