The magazine was originally targeted at active laity through parish promotions, before eventually being sold on newsstands from 1976.
Its editors in chief were Georges Hourdin, José de Broucker, Jean-Claude Petit, Max Armanet and Jean-Pierre Denis .
Since 1945, the magazine was published by le groupe de presse La Vie catholique, which in 2003 became a part of the larger Groupe La Vie-Le Monde.
Because the group to which the paper belongs was bought by Pierre Bergé, an LGBT advocate and media tycoon, the publication expressed support or neutrality over gay marriage in France, amidst pressure from the said owner.
[1] La Vie is composed of three main components each week: Beyond this, one page is reserved for an interview with a celebrity and the psychoanalyst Gérard Miller.