Millions of Muslims and Christians around the world are beginning observances of Ramadan and Lent on the same day, February 18.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, communal prayer, reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed to have been revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

The Lent period on the other hand is a 40-day Christian season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It symbolises the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness, focusing on repentance, self-denial, and preparation for the Resurrection.

Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, which falls 46 days before Easter Sunday, while Ramadan begins with the sighting of the new crescent moon, based on the Islamic calendar which is purely lunar.

On Tuesday, religious authorities in Saudi Arabia announced the sighting of the crescent moon, marking the beginning of Ramadan for the Muslims.

The overlap of the two fasting periods is a historic event that is said to have not occurred in more than 30 years.

In a message shared by Pope Leo XIV, he encouraged people to ask for "strength that comes from the type of fasting that also extends to our use of language, so that hurtful words may diminish and give way to a greater space for the voice of others.”

"Let us strive to make our communities places where the cry of those who suffer finds welcome, and listening opens paths towards liberation, making us ready and eager to contribute to building a civilization of love,” he wrote.