Founded in 1847 as the College of the Immaculate Conception before taking on its current name in 1911, the school promotes itself as serving students of all religious faiths.

Encourages personal excellence in all aspects of life, often called magis, meaning "more" or "greater," to the rigor of intellectual exchange and the varied challenges the school poses to its students through its curriculum.

[7][8] The Church of the Immaculate Conception remains on the original campus and plays an active role in the Jesuit High School community today.

In 1953 a wing was added along Palmyra Street; the addition included an auditorium, the Chapel of the North American Martyrs, a cafeteria, a library, several classrooms, and a band room.

A recreation center and gym was constructed on Banks Street across from the school in 1957 and provided facilities for the athletic teams and the physical education program.

The area was upgraded again in 2001, when the Student Commons was constructed under the resource center with further renovations to the school following after Hurricane Katrina.

Chris Fronk, S.J., on active duty as a U.S. Navy chaplain, would serve as the school's 30th president, and he assumed office in November 2016.

The mascot is a blue jay posed with his fists raised, designed by cartoonist Walt Kelly of Pogo fame.

The 1946 athletic year yielded undefeated state champions in baseball, basketball, track and field, and football—all coached by G. Gernon Brown.

In 2012 Jesuit built Ryan stadium, a state of the art facility accommodating football, baseball, and soccer on a field covered entirely with artificial turf.

[19] In February 1965, Jesuit's all-white basketball team played a secret game against St. Augustine, the city's all-male, all-black high school.

In 2005, Jesuit became the first 5A school in Louisiana history to win three state championships in a row in the sport of cross country.

[25] In 2014, Jesuit New Orleans won the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl Lacrosse Classic, with 14 schools competing from Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Because of a conflict with the senior prom, the team was forced to play in the more difficult multi-school division at the Southern Regionals in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The team swept regionals and moved on to become 8th in the country in the multi-school division at the USA Rugby Boys High School National Championship.

[28] In 2017, the Blue Jays reclaimed the State Championship, winning the title for the first time since 2011, with an overtime victory over the Bayou Hurricanes, 25–22.

The streak was broken in 2005 when the team, still feeling the effects of Hurricane Katrina, was only able to field 12 swimmers, yet managed to take second place, only a few points out of first.

In 1972 the Jesuit High School Blue Jays won the first of 18 State Championships under Coach Sam, including 11 in a row from 1988–1998.

[30] When the flooding following Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Jesuit High School was inundated, five feet (1.5 m) of water ruining the ground floor.

After Thanksgiving, Jesuit's students and faculty returned to their own campus, becoming the first flooded school in New Orleans to reopen – albeit with an unusable first floor.