May 2025: the Flower Moon week of a new pope
The full Flower Moon rose on May 12, and it lit the same week the world met a new pope. Cardinals elected Robert Prevost of Chicago on May 8. He took the name Leo XIV and became the first American to lead the Catholic Church. May 2025 held all of that and still kept its own shape. It ran 31 days from a Thursday, with five Fridays and five Saturdays, across weeks 18 to 22.
Maximum weekend real estate
A 31-day month beginning on a Thursday hands you five Thursdays, five Fridays and five Saturdays. That is 9 weekend days in total, and five Saturdays is the most any month can hold. Count 22 business days. Weekend plans, this month, had room to sprawl.
The moon ran first quarter on May 4 and last quarter on May 20. Full came on May 12; new on May 27. The month closed on a Saturday, May 31, with the Champions League final that night in Munich.
A new pope, and a tense fortnight
Pope Francis had died on April 21 at 88, after 12 years. On May 8, on the conclave's second day, the cardinals chose Robert Prevost of Chicago. The Flower Moon rose that same week. White smoke and moonlight shared the week's schedule.
The rest of the month stayed tense. India struck Pakistan on May 7 after the Pahalgam attack. Four days of the worst fighting in decades ended with a ceasefire on May 10.
Russia and Ukraine held their first direct talks since 2022 in Istanbul on May 16. They agreed to a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap, but not a ceasefire.
In Berlin, Friedrich Merz became German chancellor on May 6. He won on a second ballot, hours after failing the first, a postwar first.
Trophies, charts and a truce
Paris Saint-Germain closed the month by beating Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich on May 31. It was a first Champions League trophy, won by the biggest margin in a European Cup final. Crystal Palace took the FA Cup on May 17, the club's first major trophy in 120 years. That same night in Basel, JJ won Eurovision for Austria with “Wasted Love”.
Alex Warren's single “Ordinary” reached number one in May and began a 10-week reign. On May 12 in Geneva, the US and China agreed a 90-day tariff truce. US duties on Chinese goods fell from 145 to 30 percent. Chinese duties on US goods fell from 125 to 10 percent.
And Rockstar pushed Grand Theft Auto VI to May 26, 2026, announced May 2. It was the year's most-talked-about gaming delay.
Disney's Lilo & Stitch remake opened on May 23 with about $145.5 million over three days. It was a record for that late-May weekend.
A new pope and a full moon in the same week: May 2025 did not waste its five Saturdays.