Nicola Rotunno was born in Stigliano in the Province of Matera on 1 December 1928. He was ordained a priest on 25 July 1951.[1]
To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1955.[2] His first assignments took him to Honduras, Nicaragua, Oceania, and Lisbon.[1]
On 7 January 1975, Pope Paul VI named him a titular archbishop and Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi and Rwanda.[3] He received his episcopal consecration from Pope Paul.
On 13 April 1978, Pope Paul appointed him Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Sri Lanka.[4] The Sri Lankan government was unhappy that Rotunno appeared sympathetic to Sri Lanka's Tamil population.[5] He also met with resistance from Jesuit Aloysius Pieris when he attempted to investigate his relationship with the Buddhist community.[6]
On 30 August 1983, Pope John Paul II named him Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Syria.[7]
On 8 December 1987, Pope John Paul assigned him to the Secretariat of State;[8] on 27 February 1988, he appointed Rotunno Bishop of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto, allowing him to keep the personal title archbishop.[9] He retired on 30 July 1992.[8]
He died on 4 February 1999.[10]
