The Catholic Order of the Brothers of St John the Baptist was founded by Father John Healy of the Thebarton parish in around 1892. The Order ran a reformatory called St John the Baptist Home for Boys. In 1941, the Salesians of Don Bosco took over management of the St John the Baptist Home for Boys. By command of the Archbishop, at that time the Order of the Brothers of St John the Baptist was suppressed, and ceased to operate.
The handing over of control in 1941 of the St John the Baptist Home for Boys to the Salesians of Don Bosco resulted from internal problems within the Order of the Brothers of St John the Baptist, and concerns about the management of the Home.