Father Marie Dominique Philippe was born in northern France on September 8, 1912. He was the eighth child in a family of twelve children. All told, seven of the children would enter religious life.
After having completed his secondary education with the Jesuits at Lille, France, he entered the Order of Saint Dominic in November, 1930, at Amiens. He pronounced his religious vows in November, 1931, and pursued his studies in Philosophy and Theology at the Saulchoir in Kain (Belgium) from 1931 to 1938. He was ordained priest in July, 1936. Having first graduated in Philosophy (writing his lectorat dissertation on “Wisdom in Aristotle”) he went on to complete a doctorate in Theology.
After obtaining an additional diploma of higher studies, he taught Philosophy and Theology at the Saulchoir at Etiolles (the Dominican House of Studies for the Paris Province) and then in Fribourg, Switzerland until 1982.
Throughout his years of teaching, Father “Marie-Do” continued to give philosophical and theological conferences to diverse audiences – mainly in France and Switzerland – including: secretaries of Christian Trade Organizations, business executives, psychoanalysts, doctors, Catholic Family Associations, charismatic renewal groups, artists, and others. He also preached retreats for many communities of Religious men and women (in particular the Carmelites, Benedictines and Dominicans), and also in the houses of the Monastic Family of Bethlehem, and in various Foyers de Charité (Houses of Charity) in France. He also preached in Foyers of Charity in Senegal, Togo, Rwanda, and other countries, as well as to many youth groups.
In 1949, Father Philippe published his first book. He would go on to write numerous works in Philosophy and Spiritual Theology, several of which have been translated into other languages. In sum, he published over thirty five books and a large number of articles. They cover a vast field of study and interest: Philosophy of Art, reflections on mathematics and medicine, metaphysical studies, commentaries on the Gospel of St. John, writings on the mystery of Christ and on the Virgin Mary, books on the family, and many other related topics.
In Fribourg in 1975, at the request of some French students, he founded a religious Community. The Community’s development during this time greatly benefited from the relationship between Father Philippe and Pope John Paul II. From the time the two providentially met in 1974, a profound friendship had developed between Father Philippe and Karol Wojtyla. Later, after Wojtyla was elected Pope (Pope John Paul II), he continued to encourage Father Philippe in his philosophical and theological teaching.
In Ars, France, on June 30, 2006, he celebrated his 70th anniversary of priestly ordination. The following day, Cardinal Franc Rodé, Prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life came to preside over the ordinations of several new priests. At the end of the Mass, he paid Father Philippe a moving tribute, in these words:
“I want to thank Father Marie-Dominique Philippe for the words which he has just addressed to me, and above all for the promised prayers. I want to make the point of thanking him before all of you for all that he has done for the Church. From his heart totally given to the Lord and from his intelligence open to the truth, to the Holy Spirit, a new community was born in the Church, which, in its vigour, in its youth, in its freshness, carries the word of the Gospel throughout the world. Father Philippe, the Church is profoundly grateful to you for all that She owes you, and She owes you a lot. You see, dear Father Philippe, all the affection which surrounds you. It is a small manifestation of the love of the eternal Father for you. Accompany with the same love, the same affection, this family which has been born from the heart of God and from your heart, so that it may follow the path which you have traced out for it with a master’s hand. Thank you again.”
A few weeks later, following a stroke, Father Philippe lost his ability to speak. He remained in a profound silence, serenely waiting to encounter the One whom he so greatly desired to know and to make known. He died on August 26, 2006, surrounded by his many spiritual sons and daughters, to whom he leaves the luminous heritage of a life entirely devoted to the service of Christ and his fellow man.
The Holy Father, having learned of the death of Father Marie-Dominique Philippe, requested the Cardinal Secretary of State to send in his name the following message of condolences to the General Prior of the Congregation of Saint John:
“Having learned of the death of Father Marie-Dominique Philippe, Pope Benedict XVI unites himself in prayer to all those who mourn, in particular to those closest to the deceased. The Holy Father asks the Lord to welcome into His Kingdom him who, for many long years, guided and formed numerous people at the school of Christ, in the spirit of the “beloved disciple,” rooting them in the profound love of the Church and in fidelity to the Successor of Peter. His Holiness gives thanks for the life of Father Marie-Dominique, entirely given to the Lord and to his brothers, rooted in the meditation of the Word of God, in the search and passionate contemplation of the truth. May his testimony give to all whom he has guided the necessary élan in order that the Gospel of Christ be ever announced, welcomed and lived. Confiding you (…) and all those who will take part in the funeral rites of Father Marie-Dominique, to the Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles, to Saint John and Saint Dominique, the Holy Father imparts to all, as a pledge of consolation, a special Apostolic Blessing.
~ Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State of His Holiness”
Father Marie Dominique Philippe, O.P. 
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