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The appearance of numerous “new communities” has been understood in diverse ways. Are we in the presence of a renewal of religious life following on from Vatican II, as some argue, or of witnesses of the rise of a new type of religious life linked to changes in culture, as we have already seen over the course of history? After taking stock of the phenomenon in order to better apprehend it, the article endeavours to build a typology of these new groups, before going on to identify its characteristics. The first process, linked to the observation of developments on the ground, is followed by a second one that stops to look at the legislation and norms of the Catholic Church that are intended to regulate this phenomenon and that, as a result, guide its development and determine its possibilities. The article concludes with a balanced assessment of the phenomenon, pointing to both its strengths and its weaknesses.