As he returned to a former stomping ground to celebrate Easter, Anthony Albanese was also praying for a second coming as prime minister. Mr Albanese marked Easter Sunday by attending a Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, the site of his former school, alongside his fiancee Jodie Haydon. It was standing room only as the prime minister was among hundreds of fellow worshippers, where he reminisced about his eight years at St Mary’s Cathedral College. “It’s an important part of my life. When in year six the Christian Brothers heard that I was going to have to leave the school because we weren’t able to afford school fees ... in an act of generosity, (they) said ‘just pay what you can’,” he told reporters in Sydney. “That is indeed the Christian ethic in practice, and it was wonderful to be back here this morning.” Mr Albanese also took time after the service to speak to Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher and nuns at the church, reflecting on his time at the cathedral as an altar boy and on school sports teams. “We played for the St Mary’s Magpies and (they) made me captain of the rugby league team in under 12s, so the first speeches I have in my life (were here),” he said. While Easter has seen a lull in the official campaign, the election did raise a mention during the Mass. In an address by Dean of the Church Father Don Richardson, he said 2025 was an important year due to the federal election, as well as being a Jubilee year for the Catholic church and the year Australia hosts a men’s cricket Ashes Test series. To the sounds of ringing church bells marking the end of the Holy Week, Mr Albanese was asked about the physical toll three weeks of campaigning had taken on him. “And you must be pretty tired?” Archbishop Fisher enquired. “I am but ... the adrenaline kicks in,” Mr Albanese said. Sunday was the first time in 25 years western Easter and Greek Orthodox Easter coincided on the same day, with the prime minister following up Catholic Mass to break bread with head of Australia’s Greek Orthodox Church, Eminence Archbishop Makarios. Mr Albanese and Archbishop Makarios meet with Greek community members at a restaurant in Sydney, which was packed with diners celebrating the holy day in the city. Earlier in the day, Mr Albanese professed his devotion to another of his public faiths, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, during an appearance on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show. Clutching a rabbit mascot that has been passed down through his family, he was quizzed on his beloved team and the future NRL side based in Papua New Guinea. “(I) came out of the womb with a red and green eye,” he said.