François Picard, A.A.,[2] the Assumptionists of France (a religious congregation of the Roman Catholic Church) began to bring many pilgrims seeking to do penance in the Holy Land.

Since they had to house these groups in smaller numbers that were geographically spread out, it prevented them from sharing community life and praying together at times when they were not visiting the holy sites.

During his visit, the Archbishop laid the first stone of the Chapel of Our Lady of Jerusalem, which was consecrated the following year on November 21, 1894 on the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Behind the south wing, a new door for this area was built, on which a mosaic of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was installed (which is currently behind the reception in the guest house lobby).

At the end of the war despite the damaged building, the Israeli army stayed put since they did not want to lose such a strategic position, and a small community of Assumptionists continued to live next to the main chapel.

Two years later a journalist would describe the state of the main chapel:"The shells had penetrated leaving large holes through which, for two winters, the rain had entered through.

Because of this, the guest house suddenly lost all interest, since pilgrims staying there could not visit the main holy places in Jerusalem without having to cross the border.

The Assumptionist Fathers had an optimistic outlook:"The movement of pilgrimages has resumed, and the Israeli authorities have expressed the desire to see the development of the services that the guest house can provide to those tourists of less means.

On the other hand, they could not expel the Israeli tenants who, since the days of the Arab-Israeli War occupied a large portion of the property and made the buildings less profitable.

[14] For this reason, in September of 1970 it was announced that the building had been sold for $600,000 to the Israeli real estate company Hamenuta (a subsidiary of the Jewish National Fund) and that it would be converted into student dorms for those attending the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

[16] On many occasions, especially after his trip to the Holy Land in 1964, Pope Paul VI had expressed his desire to encourage pilgrimages and aid the local population.

With the acquisition of the building, he saw the possibility of making this happen and converting it into a center to promote pilgrimages (by means of a guest house and travel agency offices), the social aid of the local population (through craft and hotel schools) and ecumenism.

"On December 27, 1978, in the presence of the seven Catholic rites of Jerusalem, in the presence of the Apostolic Delegate and the Chargé of the Holy See for Notre Dame, Cardinal Terrence J. Cooke, Archbishop of New York, officially promulgated, in the name of Pope John Paul II, the decree of erection of the Pontifical Institute of Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center, and reopened the restored chapel for worship.

"[17]A letter, written in the form of a motu proprio, was issued by Pope John Paul II, by which the Pontifical Institute of Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center was created.

For this purpose it would be considered a territorial prelature whose spiritual jurisdiction would be exercised by the apostolic delegate functioning as "prelate", the chargé acting as the vicar general.

[18] The director of the Pontifical Institute has the title of chargé (in charge) given by the Holy See, and is, by his very position, the cultural assistant of the Apostolic Delegation for Jerusalem and Palestine.

In 2004, by means of a motu proprio published on November 26, Pope John Paul II entrusted the care and management of the Institute to the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ.

Within the center are some of the archaeological discoveries that Fr Germer-Durand, founder and first director of Notre Dame, had originally placed in a museum inside of the building.

In the Allegro restaurant on the first floor of the center is preserved the fifth milestone marker from the road of Jerusalem to Neapolis (Nablus) dating from the year 162 AD.

Below is the text of the inscription:Imp(erator) Caes(ar) M(arcus) Aurelius Antoninus Aug(ustus) pontif(ex) maximus trib(uniciae) potest(atis) XVI [co(n)s(ul) III] et Imp(erator) Caes(ar) L(ucius) Aurelius Uerus trib(uniciae) potest(atis) II co(n)s(ul) II diui Antonini fili diui Hadriani nepotes diui Traiani Parthici abnepotes Col(onia) Ael(ia) Capit(olina) m(ilia) p(assuum) V [απο] Κολ(ωνιας) Αιλιας Καπιτωλ(ινας) μιλ(ια) Ε.