Ed Peters has the list of the current College of Cardinals, arranged by the date on which each will turn 80 years old and thus become ineligible to vote in a conclave. Two will drop off the list by the date of the consistory—bringing it to the limit suggested by Pope Paul VI of 120—and seven more this year.
If we estimate that consistories take place on average every two or three years, 11 more will age out of the list by the middle of 2008 and a total of 25 of the 120 will fall off the list by the end of 2009, barring any deaths of course.
As of March 24, using the current list of new cardinals, there will be 120 cardinal-electors. By the end of June 2008, there will be 102 cardinal-electors. My guess is that another consistory will happen by then.
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Italian news outlets have said that the Holy Father wants to hold small consistories every year to get the number back to 120.
I think it would be a smart move to hold a consistory every year. Whenever they are held, all the Cardinals come to Rome to be with the Holy Father, as well as, of course, the new ones. This would allow Pope Benedict to get an idea of what is going on in the Church. Remember, the Holy Father has a great reputation as a great listener and likes to give everybody a chance to speak their minds. This would allow him to build close relationships with leaders of the most imporant Sees from around the world.
Another good reason in having a yearly consistory is that it will allow the Holy Father to put a certain emphasis on a particular part of the world. He certainly did that today when he named several bishops from Asia, especially in Hong Kong and Korea. It has been obvious in the last several months that Pope Benedict wants to build a relationship with China and very quickly. The Church is growing very fast. In 20 years, we may have a prefect of the CDF from Beijing. The “youth” of the Church is definetly in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He didn’t name a Cardinal in Dublin or Paris as many predicted.