Nicolas Brûlart de Sillery asked Henri IV for permission for the Jesuits to open a college in Reims.

The king authorised, by letters patent of 25 March 1606, the Jesuit fathers to found a college in Reims.

In 1615 the Jesuits bought the neighbouring priory of Saint-Maurice to extend the premises and in 1619, François Brûlart made a further donation of 6 600 pounds, which enabled it to be given its present layout: a central chapel with a courtyard surrounded by buildings.

In May 1762, when they were banished from France, the Jesuits' property was seized and the College of Reims was reunited with the Collège des Bons Enfants.

The Magneuses, a foundation created by Nicolas Colbert's widow, moved into part of the college in 1791 to take in poor girls aged between 10 and 15 and give them an education.