Associated with the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), it is one of two major Roman Catholic biblical academies in Jerusalem, along with the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum.

The École itself was closed for a year, but was then re-opened by the new Pope Benedict XV and Lagrange was allowed to return to Jerusalem continue its work.

The enactment of the papal encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu by Pope Pius XII in 1943 officially sanctioned the use of historical criticism in the study of the Bible, ending previous tensions between the school and the Vatican.

Since its creation, the school has been involved in the exegesis of biblical text, and has carried out archaeological research, in a complementary manner and without secrecy, in Palestine and the adjacent territories.

Among its most illustrious members, in addition to Marie-Joseph Lagrange, are Marie-Emile Boismard, Roland de Vaux, Raymond-Jacques Tournay, Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, and Pierre Benoit.