VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI is now into the 10th month of his papacy and is clearly hitting his stride.

His first encyclical has been published, a consistory and reform of the Curia are in the pipeline, and he is keeping a full calendar of papal engagements.

But he is also finding time for old friends and some relaxation. In particular, the Holy Father has retained an old tradition of holding private seminars with his former students whom he taught as a theology professor.

This came as a surprise to some who know him.

“When he was elected Pope, we figured well, it [the seminar] is going to be all off now,” said friend and former student Father Joseph Fessio on a Salem Radio Network program in early January. “But he said, ‘No, No. I’m Pope, but I want to keep my relationships with my friends in the past, and I want to continue this.’”

So the prearranged seminar was duly held last September, but relocated to the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo. Jesuit Father Christian Troll, a German professor and an expert on Islam in Europe, was among those who addressed the small gathering.

According to Father Fessio, who is provost of Ave Maria University in Florida, there was a stimulating debate over whether Islam is capable of adapting to modernity, an argument to which the Pope quickly responded with some skepticism.

Yet being the Successor of Peter needn’t be all work, and the Holy Father has incorporated times of relaxation into his daily routine.

After mornings filled with public engagements and administrative duties, Benedict has lunch from 1-2 p.m. with a few close aides, followed by an obligatory siesta.

Then, according to insiders, at around 3 p.m. — come wind, rain or chilly temperatures — he escapes the confines of the Apostolic Palace to walk for an hour, or an hour an a half, in the Vatican gardens.

Evenings Out

The Pope, who has a keen aesthetic sense and who used to ramble with his brother Georg in the Bavarian Alps, likes to savor the proximity of the Vatican’s 58 acres of lush gardens filled with winding paths, groves of massive oaks, and ancient fountains and pools. Usually he is accompanied by his private secretary, Msgr. Georg Gänswein, or by Pope John Paul II’s former assistant, Msgr. Mieczyslaw “Mietek” Mokrzycki.

After further meetings in the early evening, usually with senior Vatican officials, the Holy Father will occasionally have supper at the home of Bishop Josef Clemens who, for many years, was then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s secretary and now serves as secretary of the Pontifical Council of the Laity.

The informal dining appointment at the bishop’s apartment, situated in the same building as Benedict’s former office at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is said to give the Pope an opportunity to fire off ideas with someone who knows his mind well and to converse with other friends and visitors.

It is not known what else the Holy Father does to wind down in the evenings. But on at least three other occasions, at around 9 p.m., the Pope has been seen — dressed informally and inconspicuously — making a short trip with Msgr. Gänswein to his old apartment just outside the Vatican walls.

The Holy Father doesn’t remove any objects from the apartment; nor does he meet his old neighbors, which include Cardinals Walter Kasper and Dario Castrillon Hoyos. In fact, it’s a mystery why he returns to his old apartment or what he does during the two hours that he’s there.

“We shouldn’t be surprised,” wrote Marco Tossati, Vatican correspondent for the Italian newspaper La Stampa. “The calm existence he had before, and the most certainly more weighty one he has now are separated by just a few hundred meters; maybe the temptation is just too much even for the strong but delicate personality of Benedict XVI.”

A number of other plausible hypotheses have also been given: that there are documents still there which he needs to consult; that he wishes to play Mozart or Bach on the piano like old times; or that he needs to list any remaining objects he wishes to bring back to the palace.

Benedict’s beloved books, however, are probably already with him at the Vatican.

After expressing his delight at recent renovations to the papal apartments, the Holy Father is said to have remarked: “For me, it’s like being surrounded by friends, now that there are books on the shelves.”

All 20,000 of them.

Edward Pentin

writes from Rome.