When Pope Francis first appeared to the world on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, he humbly requested that the faithful “pray for me.” Those simple words became the punctuation marks of his pontificate, as he ended practically all his speeches, greetings, weekly benedictions and casual conversations with the appeal.

Now, 12 years since his election on March 13, 2013, and a month to the day that he entered the hospital with life-threatening lung infections, the Roman Catholic world is heeding his call and praying for its pope.

Even as the Vatican says that the pope’s condition has seen a “slight improvement,” every evening, Vatican cardinals lead rosary prayers for Francis’ recovery. Parishes around the world, from his native Argentina to the far-flung nations he made it a priority to visit and worship with, are holding prayer sessions. Even Francis’ opponents in the church’s hierarchy, prelates he demoted and fired and who have waged war against the pope’s vision — often over how to pray and worship — are silently saying their prayers.

“At this moment, even people from different ideological or theological inclinations, prayer is bringing them together,” said Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, the secretary of the Vatican’s office for evangelization.

He said Francis’ constant appeal over the past dozen years for people to pray for him was an expression of his humility, that “like any other person, he needs prayer” and God’s help. It was also an expression of Francis’s trust that people, often from other faiths, had the same line of communication to God as he did.

“It is not a question of selfishness,” the archbishop said. “It is a question of human solidarity.”