In 1883, the diocese's Bishop Patrick Thomas O'Reilly sought a teaching staff for a high school in response to the growing number of Catholic immigrants in the area.

Responding to the call, two members of the Sisters of St. Joseph from Flushing, New York came to Springfield to start up the school.

In the years that followed Cathedral High School flourished in facilities on Elliot Street in downtown Springfield.

On June 1, 2011, Cathedral High School was severely damaged in the tornado that struck Springfield, Massachusetts.

The students had finished the remainder of the 2010–2011 school year at Elms College, located in Chicopee, Massachusetts.

[5] Throughout its history, Cathedral High School had predominantly served the students of the City of Springfield.

For many years the faculty consisted of Sisters of St. Joseph and a small number of lay men and women.

Through this program, young teachers are given the chance to earn a master's degree in education from Providence College, while devoting two years of service to the school where they are assigned.

With this, all Cathedral's academic leadership, including vice-principal, guidance director, business manager, librarians, and all department heads were lay people.

Cathedral High School offered College Prep, Advanced Placement, and Honors classes within the STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Math) program.

[citation needed] Cathedral High School had religion, science, English, fine arts & business, social studies, foreign language, physical education and mathematics departments.

Within their respective departments, Cathedral offered classes in scripture, world religions, earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, journalism, computer literacy, art (painting, drawing, and sculpture), United States History, World History, sociology, Spanish, French, Latin, algebra, geometry, calculus, and statistics.

Advanced Placements were available in English, Calculus, Statistics, US History, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Latin.

Over the past 70 years Cathedral teams have won countless Western Massachusetts and state titles, including in football, soccer, cross country, basketball, hockey, indoor track and field, baseball, outdoor track and field and tennis.