In 1978, this group was ad experimentum linked to the Cistercian monastery Lérins Abbey and was then named Community of St. John.

On 26 August 2006, Marie-Dominique Philippe died in Saint-Jodard (Loire) and Pope Benedict XVI paid tribute to him.

[3] The community organizes numerous sessions for young people, for families, and many other spiritual retreats based on various themes.

In 2005, the community was composed of 930 brothers, contemplative and apostolic sisters, and over 3,000 oblates in 21 countries and 91 priories, 48 of them located in France.

[4] The congregation of the brothers of Saint John is a religious institute of diocesan right (under the authority of the local catholic church) founded in 1975.

[7][8] The group was dissolved, “suppressed, effective immediately and without the possibility of being reconstituted under another form” by Pope Benedict XVI just 6 months after founding in January 2013.

[9] The reason given in the official rescript of audience signed by Cardinal Bertone was that the community had "seriously breached ecclesiastic discipline".

[10] Their second attempt to refound was under the name of the Sisters of Mary Morning Star, in August 2014, as outlined by the chronology of the Community of St John.

They live an apostolic life, through evangelisation, spiritual assistance in dioceses: pension houses, schools, hospitals, prisons etc.

[11] This news caused a great shock to the community and immediately halted the first steps of the beatification of Marie-Dominique Philippe.

[15] After the official recognition by the community's authorities of father Philippe's breaches to chastity in 2013, the brothers of Saint John engaged in collective introspection to redefine the group's relationship with its founder.

The community wants to "work on father Philippe's teaching, and its inheritance in the thoughts and structures of the congregation, and verify its validity".

Without denying its spiritual and intellectual legacy, the brothers of Saint John accepted to give up an image that had sometimes been idealized.

If the thoughts and writings of father Philippe still nourish the teaching and spiritual life, the community has taken a certain critical distance and identified shortcomings in the brothers training that could have influenced moral deviances.

The general prior underlines: "Father Philippe's writings have been investigated, and even in Rome, no elements were found that would be outside of the Church teaching.

They also implemented, with the help of Jesuit center les jésuites du Châtelard, a program to provide priors with counselling training, to help the brothers with various emotional or sexual problems.

"[17] Since 1996, the community has been criticized in France by several anti-cult associations, including AVREF (Aide aux victimes des dérives de mouvements religieux en Europe et à leurs familles [fr]), UNADFI and CCMM.

They accused the community of proselytizing among young adults, forcing them to cut all ties with their families, exerting psychological pressure, abandoning medical treatments and using training methods for newcomers too similar to those of cults.