Ramadan and Lent Begin Together This Year; Faith Leaders in Asia Call for Shared Works of Peace

For the first time in years, the holy month of Ramadan and the Christian Lenten season begin on the same day—February 18—offering Muslims and Christians a rare moment of shared sacred time.

In a pastoral reflection released on Feb 6,  Bishop Jose Colin M. Bagaforo of Kidapawan in Mindanao, south Philippines. Has urged both communities to treat the convergence not as coincidence but as a call to shared responsibility, emphasizing that peace must be lived and worked for, not merely prayed for.

“This shared beginning is a grace,” the Filipino prelate said, inviting believers “to slow down, to return to God, and to walk together in faith” at a time marked by violence, division, and ecological crisis.

Ramadan and Lent are traditionally seasons of prayer, fasting, repentance, and generosity. While observed differently, both emphasize self-discipline and compassion for the poor. 

Drawing from Christian and Islamic scriptures, the bishop’s letter message highlighted peace as a central value in both faiths, citing Jesus’ blessing of peacemakers and the Qur’an’s invitation to humanity to enter the “Home of Peace.” 

Rather than framing peace as the absence of war, the letter described it as a right relationship—with God, with one another, and with creation. 

Environmental destruction, Bishop Bagaforo warned, fractures peace just as surely as armed conflict does. Referencing Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti by Pope Francis, the reflection linked care for the environment with social justice, noting that the suffering of the poor and the degradation of the earth are inseparable. It also echoed Islamic teaching on humanity’s role as khalifa, or stewards of creation.

In the Philippine context, the prelate pointed to Alay Kapwa, the annual Lenten solidarity offering, as a concrete expression of interfaith values. More than an act of charity, Alay Kapwa was described as a way of recognizing the other as kapwa—a fellow human being whose dignity and future are shared.

“Through Alay Kapwa, prayer becomes service, and sacrifice becomes hope,” he said, particularly for communities affected by poverty, conflict, disasters, and environmental harm.

The reflection concluded with a call for Christians, Muslims, civil society groups, and interreligious dialogue desks to pray and work together—caring for the poor, protecting creation, educating for peace, and responding collectively to the wounds of the world.

“These are sacred tasks,” Bishop Bagaforo said. “These are works of peace.”

Bishop Bagaforo is chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Commission on Interreligious Dialogue.

As Ramadan and Lent unfold side by side, faith leaders expressed hope that fasting and generosity might become a living prayer—spoken not only in words, but in shared action for a fractured world.