The school was established in 1899 by the Jesuits and operates independently of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg.

[3] The Jesuit motto is Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam which means "For the Greater Glory of God".

[5] This original facility was located in downtown Tampa at the corner of Florida Avenue and Madison Street.

[14] Jesuit also has had 60 individual and relay State Champions in 56 events in swimming, wrestling, track & field, cross country, and tennis.

The Speech and Debate Club has sent seven members to Chicago and a policy team to district nationals twice.

The southeast portion of the campus contains the renovated athletic center, which was dedicated and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Al López and Jesuit alumni.

[5] Recently, the chapel has been replaced by a larger one and plans are complete for a $35 million multipurpose building, with a cafeteria and arts and theater rooms.

[20][21] Jesuit alumni have become well-known in a variety of fields, including politics, ministry, education, medicine, journalism, science, law, professional athletics, writing, acting, painting, engineering, entrepreneurship, and, according to Nick Suszynski, 15 judges.

The Alumni Association commonly refers to the high school as "Tampa's largest fraternity".