This week in Toronto, the most recognized man in the world has been nearly unrecognizable.

The 82-year-old Pontiff, who suffers with Parkinson's disease and arthritis, had been frail and weak in the weeks leading up to this trip for the World Youth Day festival. Yet to everyone's surprise, the most traveled Pope in history has been robust and animated in his appearances so far, to the delight of more than 200,000 pilgrims registered.

Anyone who has turned on a television or opened a newspaper has seen every moment of John Paul II's activities. Every nod, wave, flinch and tremor, though there have been few of those, has been documented and dissected by experts.

John Paul II, who spends roughly 20 per cent of his time traveling, and in his 24-year reign has embarked on 96 trips outside Italy and more than 100 within, receives unprecedented media attention every where he goes. We know what he's doing here in Toronto, but what's a typical day like for him when he's home at the Vatican?

"There is no real typical day," said John Allen, who covers the Vatican for the National Catholic Reporter, the largest Catholic newspaper in the U.S. "It depends to some extent whether he's on the road or not. When he's out of town his schedule is very different."

That's what we get to see. A regular day at the Vatican is more predictable, although many the Pope's daily habits, such as praying, saying the Rosary and walking the Way of the Cross, occur no matter where he is.

In Rome, Wednesdays and Sundays are special, marked by fixed public appointments. Each Wednesday at noon, John Paul II appears in the window at St. Peter's Cathedral to give the Angelus or Regina Coeli prayers to a general audience. The Catholic custom dates back many centuries.

The Pope rises daily to an alarm clock at about 5 a.m., and spends an hour in private prayer in the chapel next to his fourth-floor apartment in the Apostolic Palace. After ablutions, he dresses and at 7:30 a.m. celebrates with a small, private mass in the chapel.

He sits down to breakfast at about 8:30 a.m., usually inviting some of those who attended mass. Then he does an hour or so of desk work in the office that adjoins his apartment, before beginning his schedule of audiences.

People get a private, semi-private or public audience based on their stature. A cardinal with pressing concerns, or heads of states, when in Rome, are permitted a coveted closed door meeting with the Pontiff that might last up to a half-hour.

The Pope holds semi-private meetings frequently. They are restricted to a group of about 100 people, say a visiting church convention, who are permitted an audience at the Apostolic Palace.

"They troop through the bronze doors, go through security and he gives a short speech, usually a blessing, and then one of their representatives gives a little speech in return," said Mr. Allen. "He might give one or five, depending on the day, from about 9 in the morning until noon or so."

A working lunch, usually with visiting bishops or cardinals, with is held at 1 p.m. It's typical Italian fare — a meat dish or two and potatoes with pasta, bread, white wine and dessert.

"He eats heartier than most Italian popes have in the past," said Mr. Allen. "He has a pretty good breakfast and lunches here are pretty solid. Suppers are said to be a little lighter. Part of the reason for his physical resilience is that he has always had an excellent appetite."

Father Thomas Rosica, director of World Youth Day, concurred, saying that while the Pope would be staying on Strawberry Island, a local Eastern European woman would cook for him. John Paul II would be offered daily breakfasts of bacon and eggs, and lunches and dinners of chicken, pasta and perogies. He'll get apple pie for dessert, and strawberry jam, homemade on the island.

No matter where he is, the Holy Father takes a nap after lunch, snoozing from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the demands of the day. Then he works at his desk for a couple of hours, writing and reviewing his speeches or sorting through mail.

He takes more meetings in the late afternoon, usually with Vatican officials who have weekly appointments. If he's preparing for a trip, his organizers drop by for a briefing.

Dinner is served about 8 p.m., a lighter meal in a less formal setting, usually with Stanislaw Dziwisz, his private secretary and closest friend, and some of the people in his household, including a group of Polish nuns who work for him.

The dishes are cleared by 9:30 p.m., after which the Pope reads. Most nights, he hits the hay by 10. The lights in the papal bedroom never stay on past 11, said Mr. Allen.

Almost all information associated with the Pope and his daily doings, his habits and his personal routines — such as exactly what he eats and how he bathes and showers in his frail condition and what he wears to bed (pajamas, presumably) is closely guarded. Of 25 questions faxed to the press office at the Vatican, only one was answered in detail, that being who was traveling to Canada with the Pontiff.

"He will be accompanied by a large group," Joy Stellato Gabrielli, Vatican press office spokesman, said in an E-mail, detailing no fewer than a half-dozen people who oversee both his personal and working business.

Possibly the most important person in the Pope's circle is Dr. Joaquim Navarro-Valls is his spokesman and one of his closest friends. Mr. Dziwisz, papal secretary and John Paul II's most trusted ally and adviser is almost always with him. As the most influential figure in the Pope's life, Mr. Dziwisz lives next door and controls access to the Pope's apartment. Even the most important people in the world — presidents, prime ministers and monarchs, who want time alone with the Pope must ask Mr. Dziwisz.

Others who travel with the Pontiff are Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State, and Monsignor Boccardo, responsible for the organization of international visits. Monsignor Marini, his official master of ceremonies, as well as one personal physician, head of security, head of Vatican Radio, head of the newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, and several of the Polish nuns.

Mr. Allen, a frequent analyst on CNN and National Public Radio tells an amusing story about one of the pitfalls of life on the road for members of the Pope's staff.

"Former papal trip planner [Roberto Tucci] once confided to a reporter that one thing he wouldn't miss about leaving his position at the Vatican was the freezing cold showers," said Mr. Allen said. "When the Pope is on the road, he gets to shower first. No exceptions. The old places they always stay in never have enough hot water because the old buildings can't handle it."

The Pope's five or six handlers have a seniority, and they shower in that order. Mr. Tucci was always at the bottom of the list.

After John Paul II arrived in Toronto, he was flown by helicopter to Strawberry Island, a bucolic haven near Orillia that has been owned by the Congregation of St. Basil since 1922. He has slept, prayed and relaxed there, and even took a power boat ride on Lake Simcoe on Wednesday. He has been sleeping in one of the island's three, two-storey, rustic cottages. The spartan rooms are carpeted, with a bed, desk and chair. There's no air conditioning. He has prayed in the small chapel, and enjoyed a walk along the Way of the Cross, a grassy path featuring 14 stations depicting the last moments of Jesus' life. He performs this piety daily in Rome.

"He's very outdoorsy and likes to spend as much time outdoors as possible, reading, writing or praying," said Mr. Allen said. "He enjoys the life of the mind, tossing around ideas. He's not the type of guy who enjoys going out to movies or nightclubs."

The Pope has been chauffeured around the island in a golf cart. Basilian priest Father Dennis Kauffman, the island's superior, is in charge of the Pope's needs.

"I'm not nervous because the Vatican asked for nothing special," said Father Kauffman. "The Holy Father has very simple tastes."

The Pope, who gave a welcoming address to more than 400,000 people at the Canadian National Exhibition on Thursday and participated in the Way of the Cross procession down University Avenue, was to move to Morrow Park, the enormous retirement home for the Sisters of St. Joseph in North York, on Saturday.

His big day of course, is Sunday, when he celebrates mass for an anticipated one million people at Downsview Lands, from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

On Monday, he is scheduled to depart for Guatemala and then Mexico, though his fragile health has forced the two trips to be trimmed to 2 ½ days instead of the five days scheduled.

And then it's back to Rome, where Archbishop James Harvey, an American, has been running the papal household. Harvey, also the keeper of the Pope's public schedule, even arranges garbage pickup, orders groceries and pays the bills. He makes certain the house is ship-shape for John Paul II's return.

It is unlikely that he will return to Canada again, but his trip has been successful beyond anyone's wildest dreams, except for perhaps the Pope's own.

"When he travels now he's more of a spectator than a participant," said Mr. Allen said. "But he could do that for some time, a long time, to come. I get the sense of worry for his health, but certainly not of crisis."