[2] Following the Second Vatican Council, Laborie, a traditionalist, was disturbed; he rejected modernization efforts, including the conduction of mass in languages other than Latin.

[4] In his forties he quickly discovered a vocation for religious life outside of the official Roman Catholic Church.

[4][2] Laborie, as well as Yves Lavigne – another figure often associated with him, who had become a bishop at the same time in 1968 from Canivet – operated Catholic services as they were done prior to the Second Vatican Council.

[3][2] Several notices were published in local newspapers and diocese bulletins, written by archbishop of Toulouse and the bishop of Montauban, warning that Laborie's movement was not a Catholic one as it was not in communion with the Pope.

[2] They had a chapel in Toulouse and a property in Portet-sur-Garonne; they had another location in Saint-Paul-d'Espis, after Laborie noticed the large number of people making pilgrimage there.

[6] The movement joined the Ecumenical League for Christian Unity (French: Ligue œcuménique pour l'Unité Chrétienne), which aimed to unify schismatic Catholic Churches.

[4] In 1974, he declared that Rome was considering admitting his movement; he was re-consecrated conditionally a second time on 8 February 1977 by Traditionalist Catholic Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngo Dinh Thuc.

[2] Scholar Bernard Vignot described him as an "affable man", whose reputation was spread far beyond his region due to his service to others, especially "unfortunate people", though noted the bad aspects of his legacy such as the money scandals and the ordination of Jouret.

[7] Vignot wrote that Laborie was, though a marginal figure, representative of the kind of Christian troubled by the Vatican reforms and attempting to maintain more traditional practice.

According to Vignot, Laborie had "succeeded by unorthodox means in imposing himself on the religious market", and said he had was known for his charisma and status as a miracle worker.