diff --git a/.azure-pipelines/linux_build_py37.yml b/.azure-pipelines/linux_build_py37.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index be78653dcec..00000000000
--- a/.azure-pipelines/linux_build_py37.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,74 +0,0 @@
-steps:
-- bash: |
-    source ${CONDA}/etc/profile.d/conda.sh
-    sudo chown -R ${USER} ${CONDA}
-    conda config --set always_yes yes --set changeps1 no
-    conda update -q conda
-    conda info -a
-    conda create --name rdkit_build $(compiler) cmake \
-        boost-cpp=$(boost_version) boost=$(boost_version) \
-        py-boost=$(boost_version) libboost=$(boost_version) \
-        numpy matplotlib pillow eigen pandas \
-        sphinx myst-parser jupyter
-    conda activate rdkit_build
-    conda install -c rdkit nox cairo=1.14.6
-  displayName: Setup build environment
-- bash: |
-    source ${CONDA}/etc/profile.d/conda.sh
-    conda activate rdkit_build
-    mkdir build && cd build && \
-    cmake .. \
-    -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-    -DRDK_INSTALL_INTREE=ON \
-    -DRDK_INSTALL_STATIC_LIBS=OFF \
-    -DRDK_BUILD_CPP_TESTS=ON \
-    -DRDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS=ON \
-    -DRDK_BUILD_COORDGEN_SUPPORT=ON \
-    -DRDK_BUILD_MAEPARSER_SUPPORT=ON \
-    -DRDK_OPTIMIZE_POPCNT=ON \
-    -DRDK_BUILD_TEST_GZIP=ON \
-    -DRDK_BUILD_FREESASA_SUPPORT=ON \
-    -DRDK_BUILD_AVALON_SUPPORT=ON \
-    -DRDK_BUILD_INCHI_SUPPORT=ON \
-    -DRDK_BUILD_CAIRO_SUPPORT=ON \
-    -DRDK_BUILD_SWIG_WRAPPERS=OFF \
-    -DRDK_SWIG_STATIC=OFF \
-    -DRDK_BUILD_THREADSAFE_SSS=ON \
-    -DRDK_TEST_MULTITHREADED=ON \
-    -DBoost_NO_SYSTEM_PATHS=ON \
-    -DRDK_BOOST_PYTHON3_NAME=$(python_name) \
-    -DPYTHON_EXECUTABLE=${CONDA_PREFIX}/bin/python3 \
-    -DCMAKE_INCLUDE_PATH="${CONDA_PREFIX}/include" \
-    -DCMAKE_LIBRARY_PATH="${CONDA_PREFIX}/lib"
-  displayName: Configure build (Run CMake)
-- bash: |
-    source ${CONDA}/etc/profile.d/conda.sh
-    conda activate rdkit_build
-    cd build
-    make -j $( $(number_of_cores) ) install
-  displayName: Build
-- bash: |
-    source ${CONDA}/etc/profile.d/conda.sh
-    conda activate rdkit_build
-    export RDBASE=`pwd`
-    export PYTHONPATH=${RDBASE}:${PYTHONPATH}
-    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${RDBASE}/lib:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}
-    export QT_QPA_PLATFORM='offscreen'
-    cd build
-    ctest -j $( $(number_of_cores) ) --output-on-failure -T Test
-  displayName: Run tests
-- bash: |
-    source ${CONDA}/etc/profile.d/conda.sh
-    conda activate rdkit_build
-    export RDBASE=`pwd`
-    export PYTHONPATH=${RDBASE}:${PYTHONPATH}
-    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${RDBASE}/lib:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}
-    export QT_QPA_PLATFORM='offscreen'
-    cd Docs/Book
-    make doctest
-  displayName: Run documentation tests
-- task: PublishTestResults@2
-  inputs:
-    testResultsFormat: 'CTest'
-    testResultsFiles: 'build/Testing/*/Test.xml'
-    testRunTitle: $(system.phasedisplayname) CTest Test Run
diff --git a/.azure-pipelines/vs_build.yml b/.azure-pipelines/vs_build.yml
index 5865d4b6dc6..4547c54fc8f 100644
--- a/.azure-pipelines/vs_build.yml
+++ b/.azure-pipelines/vs_build.yml
@@ -6,12 +6,14 @@ steps:
     conda info -a
     conda install -n base conda-libmamba-solver
     conda config --set solver libmamba
-    conda create --name rdkit_build ^
-        boost-cpp=$(boost_version) boost=$(boost_version) ^
-        py-boost=$(boost_version) libboost=$(boost_version) ^
-        numpy matplotlib=3.8 cairo pillow eigen pandas=2.1
+    conda create --name rdkit_build -c conda-forge $(python) ^
+        boost=$(boost_version) boost-cpp=$(boost_version) ^
+        libboost-python-devel=(boost_version) ^
+        libboost=$(boost_version) ^
+        libboost-devel=$(boost_version) ^
+        numpy matplotlib cairo pillow eigen pandas=2.1
     call activate rdkit_build
-    conda install -c conda-forge sphinx myst-parser ipython=8.20 jupyter pytest nbval
+    conda install -c conda-forge sphinx myst-parser ipython jupyter pytest nbval
     conda install -c conda-forge cmake
   displayName: Install dependencies
 - script: |
@@ -40,8 +42,6 @@ steps:
     -DRDK_BUILD_CFFI_LIB=ON ^
     -DRDK_SWIG_STATIC=OFF ^
     -DRDK_TEST_MULTITHREADED=ON ^
-    -DRDK_BOOST_PYTHON3_NAME=$(python_name) ^
-    -DBoost_NO_BOOST_CMAKE=TRUE ^
     -DCMAKE_INCLUDE_PATH=%CONDA_PREFIX%/Library/include ^
     -DCMAKE_LIBRARY_PATH="%CONDA_PREFIX%/Library/lib
   displayName: Configure build (Run CMake)
diff --git a/.azure-pipelines/vs_build_dll.yml b/.azure-pipelines/vs_build_dll.yml
index dced5b1ac58..f8fca451f73 100644
--- a/.azure-pipelines/vs_build_dll.yml
+++ b/.azure-pipelines/vs_build_dll.yml
@@ -6,12 +6,14 @@ steps:
     conda info -a
     conda install -n base conda-libmamba-solver
     conda config --set solver libmamba
-    conda create --name rdkit_build ^
-        boost-cpp=$(boost_version) boost=$(boost_version) ^
+    conda create --name rdkit_build -c conda-forge $(python) ^
+        boost=$(boost_version) boost-cpp=$(boost_version) ^
+        libboost-python-devel=(boost_version) ^
         libboost=$(boost_version) ^
-        numpy matplotlib=3.8 cairo pillow eigen pandas=2.1
+        libboost-devel=$(boost_version) ^
+        numpy matplotlib cairo pillow eigen pandas=2.1
     call activate rdkit_build
-    conda install -c conda-forge cmake ipython=8.20 pytest nbval
+    conda install -c conda-forge cmake ipython pytest nbval
   displayName: Install dependencies
 - script: |
     set Boost_ROOT=
@@ -39,7 +41,6 @@ steps:
     -DRDK_BUILD_SWIG_WRAPPERS=OFF ^
     -DRDK_SWIG_STATIC=OFF ^
     -DRDK_TEST_MULTITHREADED=ON ^
-    -DBoost_NO_BOOST_CMAKE=TRUE ^
     -DCMAKE_INCLUDE_PATH=%CONDA_PREFIX%/Library/include ^
     -DCMAKE_LIBRARY_PATH="%CONDA_PREFIX%/Library/lib
   displayName: Configure build (Run CMake)
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 6dc6819fde4..812f3f8a098 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.14)
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16)
 
 project (RDKit)
 
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ option(RDK_BUILD_MINIMAL_LIB_RXN "build support for reactions into MinimalLib" O
 option(RDK_BUILD_MINIMAL_LIB_SUBSTRUCTLIBRARY "build support for SubstructLibrary into MinimalLib" ON )
 option(RDK_BUILD_MINIMAL_LIB_MCS "build support for MCS into MinimalLib" OFF )
 
-set(RDK_BOOST_VERSION "1.58.0")
+set(RDK_BOOST_VERSION "1.70.0")
 
 if(NOT MSVC)
   if(RDK_OPTIMIZE_POPCNT)
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ set(RDKit_ExternalDir "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/External")
 set(RDKit_DataDir "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/Data")
 
 #include catch
-find_package(Catch2 3)
+find_package(Catch2 3 QUIET)
 if(NOT Catch2_FOUND)
   Include(FetchContent)
 
@@ -290,59 +290,26 @@ if(RDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS)
 
   #-------
   # pull in python:
-  find_package(PythonInterp)
-  if (PYTHONINTERP_FOUND AND NOT Python_ADDITIONAL_VERSIONS)
-    set(Python_ADDITIONAL_VERSIONS "${PYTHON_VERSION_MAJOR}.${PYTHON_VERSION_MINOR}")
-  endif (PYTHONINTERP_FOUND AND NOT Python_ADDITIONAL_VERSIONS)
-
-  if(PYTHON_VERSION_MAJOR EQUAL 2)
-    message(FATAL_ERROR "ERROR: The RDKit no longer supports Python 2.\nIf you have Python 3 installed, you can tell cmake where to find it using the -DPYTHON_EXECUTABLE argument.")
-  endif()
-
-  find_package(PythonLibs)
-  target_include_directories(rdkit_base INTERFACE ${PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR})
+  find_package(Python3 COMPONENTS Interpreter Development NumPy)
+  target_include_directories(rdkit_base INTERFACE ${Python3_INCLUDE_DIRS})
+  target_include_directories(rdkit_base INTERFACE ${Python3_NumPy_INCLUDE_DIRS})
 
   # determine linkage of python
   execute_process(
       COMMAND
-      ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE} -c "import sysconfig; print(sysconfig.get_config_var('Py_ENABLE_SHARED'))"
+      ${Python3_EXECUTABLE} -c "import sysconfig; print(sysconfig.get_config_var('Py_ENABLE_SHARED'))"
       OUTPUT_VARIABLE Py_ENABLE_SHARED
       OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
   )
 
   if(WIN32 OR "${Py_ENABLE_SHARED}" STREQUAL "1")
-    target_link_libraries(rdkit_py_base INTERFACE ${PYTHON_LIBRARIES} )
-  endif()
-
-  find_package(NumPy REQUIRED)
-  target_include_directories(rdkit_base INTERFACE ${PYTHON_NUMPY_INCLUDE_PATH})
-
-  if(PYTHON_VERSION_MAJOR EQUAL 3)
-    # Find boost-python3 using name specified as command line option then fall back to commonly used names
-    set(RDK_BOOST_PYTHON3_NAME "python3" CACHE STRING "Name of the boost python3 library. If installed as libboost_python-xxx.so, use python-xxx.")
-    list(APPEND Boost_Python_Names "${RDK_BOOST_PYTHON3_NAME}" "python-py3${PYTHON_VERSION_MINOR}" "python3")
-  endif(PYTHON_VERSION_MAJOR EQUAL 3)
-
-  # Boost 1.67+ uses a version suffix like "python36" or "python27"
-  list(APPEND Boost_Python_Names "python${PYTHON_VERSION_MAJOR}${PYTHON_VERSION_MINOR}")
-
-  # Try each potential boost-python name until one works
-  foreach(Boost_Python_LibN ${Boost_Python_Names})
-    find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} COMPONENTS "${Boost_Python_LibN}" QUIET)
-    if(Boost_FOUND)
-      set(Boost_Python_Lib ${Boost_Python_LibN})
-      break()
-    endif()
-  endforeach()
-  # Finally just try "python" and hope it is a compatible version
-  if(NOT Boost_FOUND)
-    find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} COMPONENTS python REQUIRED)
-    set(Boost_Python_Lib "python")
+    target_link_libraries(rdkit_py_base INTERFACE ${Python3_LIBRARY} )
   endif()
 
-  find_package(Boost COMPONENTS "numpy${PYTHON_VERSION_MAJOR}${PYTHON_VERSION_MINOR}" REQUIRED)
+   
+  find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} COMPONENTS "python${Python3_VERSION_MAJOR}${Python3_VERSION_MINOR}" "numpy${Python3_VERSION_MAJOR}${Python3_VERSION_MINOR}" REQUIRED CONFIG)
   
-  target_link_libraries(rdkit_py_base INTERFACE Boost::${Boost_Python_Lib} "Boost::numpy${PYTHON_VERSION_MAJOR}${PYTHON_VERSION_MINOR}")
+  target_link_libraries(rdkit_py_base INTERFACE "Boost::python${Python3_VERSION_MAJOR}${Python3_VERSION_MINOR}" "Boost::numpy${Python3_VERSION_MAJOR}${Python3_VERSION_MINOR}")
 
   if(RDK_INSTALL_INTREE)
     set(RDKit_PythonDir "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/rdkit")
@@ -351,7 +318,7 @@ if(RDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS)
       # Determine correct installation directory for Python bindings
       execute_process(
         COMMAND
-        ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE} -c "import sys; import sysconfig; \
+        ${Python3_EXECUTABLE} -c "import sys; import sysconfig; \
           base_key = 'base' if sys.platform == 'win32' else 'platbase'; \
           schema = 'nt' if sys.platform == 'win32' else 'posix_prefix'; \
           print(sysconfig.get_path('platlib', schema, vars={base_key: '${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}'}))"
@@ -392,21 +359,20 @@ if(RDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS)
     # We strip off the first word though (which will be the compiler name).
     execute_process(
         COMMAND
-        ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE} -c "import sysconfig; print(sysconfig.get_config_var('LDSHARED').lstrip().split(' ', 1)[1])"
+        ${Python3_EXECUTABLE} -c "import sysconfig; print(sysconfig.get_config_var('LDSHARED').lstrip().split(' ', 1)[1])"
         OUTPUT_VARIABLE PYTHON_LDSHARED
         OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
      )
-     message("PYTHON Py_ENABLE_SHARED: ${Py_ENABLE_SHARED}")
-     message("PYTHON USING LINK LINE: ${PYTHON_LDSHARED}")
   endif()
 
+
   install(TARGETS rdkit_py_base EXPORT ${RDKit_EXPORTED_TARGETS}
           COMPONENT dev )
 
   # check to see if we can find nbval,
   execute_process(
     COMMAND
-    ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE} -c "import nbval"
+    ${Python3_EXECUTABLE} -c "import nbval"
     ERROR_VARIABLE nbvalERR
     OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE)
   if(NOT nbvalERR)
@@ -416,7 +382,7 @@ if(RDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS)
   endif()
 
 else(RDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS)
-  find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} REQUIRED)
+  find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} REQUIRED CONFIG)
 endif(RDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS)
 
 find_package(Eigen3)
@@ -452,7 +418,7 @@ else()
 endif()
 
 if(RDK_USE_BOOST_SERIALIZATION)
-    find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} COMPONENTS system serialization iostreams REQUIRED)
+    find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} COMPONENTS system serialization iostreams REQUIRED CONFIG)
     target_link_libraries(rdkit_base INTERFACE ${Boost_LIBRARIES})
     target_compile_definitions(rdkit_base INTERFACE -DRDK_USE_BOOST_SERIALIZATION)
     if(NOT Boost_USE_STATIC_LIBS)
@@ -462,7 +428,7 @@ endif()
 
 if(RDK_USE_BOOST_IOSTREAMS)
     target_compile_definitions(rdkit_base INTERFACE -DRDK_USE_BOOST_IOSTREAMS)
-    find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} COMPONENTS system iostreams REQUIRED)
+    find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} COMPONENTS system iostreams REQUIRED CONFIG)
     target_link_libraries(rdkit_base INTERFACE ${Boost_LIBRARIES})
 
     if (NOT Boost_USE_STATIC_LIBS)
@@ -471,7 +437,7 @@ if(RDK_USE_BOOST_IOSTREAMS)
 
     # deal with zlib
     if (WIN32)
-      find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} COMPONENTS zlib)
+      find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} COMPONENTS zlib CONFIG)
       if(Boost_zlib_FOUND)
         set(zlib_lib Boost::zlib)
       endif()
diff --git a/Code/GraphMol/FilterCatalog/CMakeLists.txt b/Code/GraphMol/FilterCatalog/CMakeLists.txt
index b65e498564b..3430eb65d0d 100644
--- a/Code/GraphMol/FilterCatalog/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/Code/GraphMol/FilterCatalog/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -2,9 +2,8 @@ if(NOT RDK_USE_BOOST_SERIALIZATION)
     message("== Making FilterCatalog without boost Serialization support")
 endif()
 
-find_package(PythonInterp)
-if (PYTHONINTERP_FOUND)
-  if(DEFINED PYTHON_VERSION_STRING AND ${PYTHON_VERSION_STRING} VERSION_GREATER "2.6" )
+find_package(Python3 COMPONENTS Interpreter)
+if (Python3::Interpreter)
         message("== Updating Filters.cpp from pains file")
         execute_process(
           COMMAND
@@ -14,7 +13,6 @@ if (PYTHONINTERP_FOUND)
         if(NOT rc EQUAL 0)
           message(FATAL_ERROR "Failed updating Filters.cpp from wehi_pains.csv")
         endif(NOT rc EQUAL 0)
-  endif()
 endif()
 
 
diff --git a/Code/GraphMol/RGroupDecomposition/CMakeLists.txt b/Code/GraphMol/RGroupDecomposition/CMakeLists.txt
index 4ed08ff6c37..38efbe55ace 100644
--- a/Code/GraphMol/RGroupDecomposition/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/Code/GraphMol/RGroupDecomposition/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ rdkit_test(testRGroupDecompInternals testRGroupInternals.cpp
 rdkit_catch_test(rgroupCatchTests catch_rgd.cpp 
 		LINK_LIBRARIES RGroupDecomposition )
 
-find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} COMPONENTS program_options)
+find_package(Boost ${RDK_BOOST_VERSION} COMPONENTS program_options CONFIG)
 if(RDK_BUILD_CPP_TESTS AND Boost_FOUND)
 	add_executable(gaExample GaExample.cpp)
 	if(NOT Boost_USE_STATIC_LIBS)
diff --git a/Code/cmake/Modules/CodeCoverage.cmake b/Code/cmake/Modules/CodeCoverage.cmake
index 1a41c5517c5..ac39b313e96 100644
--- a/Code/cmake/Modules/CodeCoverage.cmake
+++ b/Code/cmake/Modules/CodeCoverage.cmake
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ IF ( NOT (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Debug" OR CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Covera
   MESSAGE( WARNING "Code coverage results with an optimized (non-Debug) build may be misleading" )
 ENDIF() # NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "Debug"
 
+find_package(Python3 COMPONENTS Interpreter)
 
 # Param _targetname     The name of new the custom make target
 # Param _testrunner     The name of the target which runs the tests.
@@ -118,7 +119,7 @@ FUNCTION(SETUP_TARGET_FOR_COVERAGE _targetname _testrunner _outputname)
 		# Capturing lcov counters and generating report
 		COMMAND ${LCOV_PATH} --directory . --capture --output-file ${_outputname}.info
 		COMMAND ${LCOV_PATH} --remove ${_outputname}.info 'tests/*' '/usr/*' '*.ll' '*.yy' --output-file ${_outputname}.info.cleaned
-                COMMAND ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE} ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/Code/cmake/Modules/fixup_coverage.py ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR} ${_outputname}.info.cleaned
+                COMMAND ${Python3_EXECUTABLE} ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/Code/cmake/Modules/fixup_coverage.py ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR} ${_outputname}.info.cleaned
 
 		COMMAND ${GENHTML_PATH} -o ${_outputname} ${_outputname}.info.cleaned
 		COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E remove ${_outputname}.info ${_outputname}.info.cleaned
@@ -142,7 +143,7 @@ ENDFUNCTION() # SETUP_TARGET_FOR_COVERAGE
 #   Pass them in list form, e.g.: "-j;2" for -j 2
 FUNCTION(SETUP_TARGET_FOR_COVERAGE_COBERTURA _targetname _testrunner _outputname)
 
-	IF(NOT PYTHON_EXECUTABLE)
+	IF(NOT Python3_EXECUTABLE)
 		MESSAGE(FATAL_ERROR "Python not found! Aborting...")
 	ENDIF() # NOT PYTHON_EXECUTABLE
 
diff --git a/Code/cmake/Modules/RDKitUtils.cmake b/Code/cmake/Modules/RDKitUtils.cmake
index 7c4f5add5f5..cf3a3b6375c 100644
--- a/Code/cmake/Modules/RDKitUtils.cmake
+++ b/Code/cmake/Modules/RDKitUtils.cmake
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ macro(rdkit_python_extension)
   CAR(RDKPY_NAME ${RDKPY_DEFAULT_ARGS})
   CDR(RDKPY_SOURCES ${RDKPY_DEFAULT_ARGS})
   if(RDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS)
-    PYTHON_ADD_MODULE(${RDKPY_NAME} ${RDKPY_SOURCES})
+    Python3_add_library(${RDKPY_NAME} MODULE ${RDKPY_SOURCES})
     set_target_properties(${RDKPY_NAME} PROPERTIES PREFIX "")
 
     if(WIN32)
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ macro(rdkit_python_extension)
                               ${RDK_PYTHON_OUTPUT_DIRECTORY}/${RDKPY_DEST})
     endif(WIN32)
 
-    target_link_libraries(${RDKPY_NAME} ${RDKPY_LINK_LIBRARIES}
+    target_link_libraries(${RDKPY_NAME} PUBLIC ${RDKPY_LINK_LIBRARIES}
                           RDBoost rdkit_py_base rdkit_base )
     if("${PYTHON_LDSHARED}" STREQUAL "")
     else()
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ macro(add_pytest)
   CAR(PYTEST_NAME ${PYTEST_DEFAULT_ARGS})
   CDR(PYTEST_SOURCES ${PYTEST_DEFAULT_ARGS})
   if(RDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS)
-    add_test(${PYTEST_NAME}  ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE}
+    add_test(${PYTEST_NAME}  ${Python3_EXECUTABLE}
              ${PYTEST_SOURCES})
     SET(RDKIT_PYTEST_CACHE "${PYTEST_NAME};${RDKIT_PYTEST_CACHE}" CACHE INTERNAL "Global list of python tests")
   endif(RDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS)
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ endmacro(add_pytest)
 
 function(add_jupytertest testname workingdir notebook)
   if(RDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS AND RDK_NBVAL_AVAILABLE)
-    add_test(NAME ${testname}  COMMAND ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE} -m pytest --nbval ${notebook}
+    add_test(NAME ${testname}  COMMAND ${Python3_EXECUTABLE} -m pytest --nbval ${notebook}
        WORKING_DIRECTORY ${workingdir} )
     SET(RDKIT_JUPYTERTEST_CACHE "${testname};${RDKIT_JUPYTERTEST_CACHE}" CACHE INTERNAL "Global list of jupyter tests")
   endif()
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ endfunction(add_jupytertest)
 
 function(add_pythonpytest testname workingdir)
   if(RDK_BUILD_PYTHON_WRAPPERS)
-    add_test(NAME ${testname}  COMMAND ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE} -m pytest 
+    add_test(NAME ${testname}  COMMAND ${Python3_EXECUTABLE} -m pytest 
        WORKING_DIRECTORY ${workingdir} )
     SET(RDKIT_PYTHONTEST_CACHE "${testname};${RDKIT_PYTHONTEST_CACHE}" CACHE INTERNAL "Global list of pytest tests")
   endif()
diff --git a/External/CoordGen/CMakeLists.txt b/External/CoordGen/CMakeLists.txt
index cb78c31e608..a0a7148b1a0 100644
--- a/External/CoordGen/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/External/CoordGen/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ if(RDK_BUILD_MAEPARSER_SUPPORT OR RDK_BUILD_COORDGEN_SUPPORT)
     add_definitions(-DIN_MAEPARSER)
   endif()
 
-  find_package(maeparser MODULE)
+  find_package(maeparser MODULE QUIET)
 
   if(MAEPARSER_FORCE_BUILD OR (NOT maeparser_FOUND))
     if(NOT DEFINED MAEPARSER_DIR)
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ if(RDK_BUILD_COORDGEN_SUPPORT)
     add_definitions(-DIN_COORDGEN)
   endif(MSVC AND (NOT RDK_INSTALL_DLLS_MSVC))
 
-  find_package(coordgen MODULE)
+  find_package(coordgen MODULE QUIET)
   if(COORDGEN_FORCE_BUILD OR (NOT coordgen_FOUND))
     if(NOT DEFINED COORDGEN_DIR)
       set(COORDGEN_DIR "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/coordgen")
diff --git a/Projects/DbCLI/UnitTestDbCLI.py b/Projects/DbCLI/UnitTestDbCLI.py
index 8e9c4d9cec5..ee10c509309 100644
--- a/Projects/DbCLI/UnitTestDbCLI.py
+++ b/Projects/DbCLI/UnitTestDbCLI.py
@@ -363,14 +363,12 @@ def test2_8SearchThresh(self):
     os.unlink('testData/bzr/search.out')
 
   def test4CreateOptions(self):
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/Compounds.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/Compounds.sqlt')
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/AtomPairs.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/AtomPairs.sqlt')
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/Descriptors.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/Descriptors.sqlt')
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/Fingerprints.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/Fingerprints.sqlt')
+    for fn in ('Compounds.sqlt', 'AtomPairs.sqlt', 'Descriptors.sqlt', 'Fingerprints.sqlt'):
+      if os.path.exists(f'testData/bzr/{fn}'):
+        try:
+          os.unlink(f'testData/bzr/{fn}')
+        except PermissionError:
+          pass
 
     p = subprocess.Popen((sys.executable, 'CreateDb.py', '--dbDir=testData/bzr',
                           '--molFormat=smiles', '--noExtras', '--noSmiles', 'testData/bzr.smi'))
@@ -394,14 +392,12 @@ def test4CreateOptions(self):
     conn = None
     d = None
 
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/Compounds.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/Compounds.sqlt')
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/AtomPairs.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/AtomPairs.sqlt')
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/Descriptors.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/Descriptors.sqlt')
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/Fingerprints.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/Fingerprints.sqlt')
+    for fn in ('Compounds.sqlt', 'AtomPairs.sqlt', 'Descriptors.sqlt', 'Fingerprints.sqlt'):
+      if os.path.exists(f'testData/bzr/{fn}'):
+        try:
+          os.unlink(f'testData/bzr/{fn}')
+        except PermissionError:
+          pass
 
     p = subprocess.Popen((sys.executable, 'CreateDb.py', '--dbDir=testData/bzr',
                           '--molFormat=smiles', '--noSmiles', '--noFingerprints', '--noLayeredFps',
@@ -486,14 +482,12 @@ def test4CreateOptions(self):
     self.assertTrue(os.path.exists('testData/bzr/Fingerprints.sqlt'))
 
   def test5TestBackwardsCompat(self):
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/Compounds.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/Compounds.sqlt')
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/AtomPairs.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/AtomPairs.sqlt')
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/Descriptors.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/Descriptors.sqlt')
-    if os.path.exists('testData/bzr/Fingerprints.sqlt'):
-      os.unlink('testData/bzr/Fingerprints.sqlt')
+    for fn in ('Compounds.sqlt', 'AtomPairs.sqlt', 'Descriptors.sqlt', 'Fingerprints.sqlt'):
+      if os.path.exists(f'testData/bzr/{fn}'):
+        try:
+          os.unlink(f'testData/bzr/{fn}')
+        except PermissionError:
+          pass
 
     p = subprocess.Popen((sys.executable, 'CreateDb.py', '--dbDir=testData/bzr', '--noFingerprints',
                           '--noDescriptors', 'testData/bzr.sdf'))
diff --git a/azure-pipelines.yml b/azure-pipelines.yml
index f200e653dc2..7d609aa1dc8 100644
--- a/azure-pipelines.yml
+++ b/azure-pipelines.yml
@@ -50,9 +50,9 @@ jobs:
   pool:
     vmImage: windows-2019
   variables:
-    boost_version: 1.71.0
+    boost_version: 1.84.0
     number_of_cores: '%NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS%'
-    python_name: python38
+    python: python=3.12
   steps:
   - template: .azure-pipelines/vs_build.yml
 - job: Windows_VS2022_x64_dll
@@ -60,9 +60,9 @@ jobs:
   pool:
     vmImage: windows-2019
   variables:
-    boost_version: 1.71.0
+    boost_version: 1.84.0
     number_of_cores: '%NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS%'
-    python_name: python38
+    python: python=3.12
   steps:
   - template: .azure-pipelines/vs_build_dll.yml
 - job: Ubuntu_x64_cartridge
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ jobs:
   pool:
     vmImage: ubuntu-20.04
   variables:
-    boost_version: 1.69.0
+    boost_version: 1.71.0
     number_of_cores: nproc
     compiler: gxx_linux-64
     cc: gcc-10
diff --git a/rdkit-stubs/CMakeLists.txt b/rdkit-stubs/CMakeLists.txt
index 4c7d9870c44..667db1aeac1 100644
--- a/rdkit-stubs/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/rdkit-stubs/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ string(CONCAT RUN_GEN_RDKIT_STUBS_PY "message("
   "set (COMMON_FILENAME ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR_FWDSLASH}/gen_rdkit_stubs)\n"
   "execute_process("
   "COMMAND "
-  "${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE} -m Scripts.gen_rdkit_stubs ${CONCURRENCY}"
+  "${Python3_EXECUTABLE} -m Scripts.gen_rdkit_stubs ${CONCURRENCY}"
   "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR_FWDSLASH_QUOTED}${PYTHON_INSTDIR_FWDSLASH_QUOTED}"
   "WORKING_DIRECTORY \"${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR_FWDSLASH}\" "
   "OUTPUT_FILE \"\${COMMON_FILENAME}.out\" "