 On October 1, 1979, Pope John Paul II held a 38-minute prayer service for 2,000 priests in the cathedral during his first pilgrimage to the United States.On April 18, 2013, an interfaith prayer vigil in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing took place at the cathedral, with President Barack Obama delivering the eulogy.In 1927, Cardinal William O'Connell founded Cathedral High School adjacent to the church and charged the Sisters of St. Joseph with operating the institution.