was named to serve briefly as apostolic administrator of the Avellaneda. Pironio served as the Secretary-General of the Latin American Episcopal Council from 1967 to 1972. He also attended the Synod of Bishops from 29 September to 29 October 1967, and later attended the Second General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate from 24 August to 6 September 1968 in Colombia. He attended two additional synods in 1969 and in 1971. Pironio was elected as the President of the Latin American Episcopal Conference in 1972, served until 1974, and was confirmed for an extra year. He was named the Bishop of Mar del Plata on 19 April 1972. He preached the spiritual exercises for Pope Paul VI and the Roman Curia for Lent in 1974. On 20 September 1975 he was named Pro-Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and made Titular Archbishop of Thiges. He became Prefect of that Congregation when he became a cardinal and held that office until 1984. Pironio also attended the synod of 1974 as a relator and as a member of its general secretariat. Paul VI, on 24 May 1976, made him Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Cosma e Damiano. As a cardinal he participated in the synod of 1977, and served as a cardinal elector in the papal conclaves of August and October 1978 that elected Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II respectively. He was thought to be a possible candidate for election as pope in that year. In 1979, he attended the Third General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate in Mexico, and later a synod in 1980 and 1983. On 8 April 1984 Pope John Paul II named him President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. In that position, together with John Paul II, Pironio was a promoter of the first World Youth Day. He served at seven additional synods during the next decade. As is traditional after ten years of serving as Cardinal-Deacon, he took the option of becoming Cardinal-Priest while retaining his titular church. On 11 July 1995 John Paul named him Cardinal-Bishop of the suburbicarian see of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto. He retired in 1996. Pironio attended the Fourth General Conference of the Latin American Episcopal Conference in 1992 in the Dominican Republic and was appointed papal envoy to the 5th National Marian Congress in Ecuador in 1992. Death Pironio died