Archbishop Paolo Rudelli was born on 16 July 1970 in Gazzaniga in Lombardy, Italy. He comes from Gandino in the Province of Bergamo. On 10 June 1995, he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Bergamo, Italy at the age of 24. He completed his theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he received a doctoral degree in moral theology and a licenciate in canon law. In 1998 he began his preparation for the diplomatic service at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. On 1 July 2001, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See and worked in the nunciatures in Ecuador (2001–2003) and Poland (2003–2006) and then worked in the Section for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State.
On 20 September 2014, Pope Francis appointed him Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, just a month before Pope Francis’ visit to Strasbourg.
On 3 September 2019, Pope Francis named him a titular Archbishop of Mesembria and gave him the title of Apostolic Nuncio. He was replaced in Strasbourg on 21 September 2019 by Marco Ganci. He received his episcopal consecration from Pope Francis on 4 October at San Pietro Basilica in Rome. On 25 January 2020, Pope Francis named him Apostolic Nuncio to Zimbabwe replacing Archbishop Marek Zalewski who had served at the nunciature in Zimbabwe from 25 March 2014 to 21 May 2018 when he was transferred to be the nuncio in Singapore.
On 19 July 2023, Pope Francis appointed him as apostolic nuncio to Colombia to replace Archbishop Luis Aariano Montemayor who on the 25th of February 2023 was transferred to be the Apostolic Nuncio in Ireland. As the IMBISA region we want to express our profound gratitude to Archbishop Paolo Rudelli for the work he has done in Zimbabwe and for his service to us especially our secretariat whose headquarters is in Harare, Zimbabwe. We promise you our continuous prayers and support in your mission in Colombia.