Cardinal Monterisi was born on May 28, 1934 in Barletta, Italy.
He was ordained a Priest on March 16, 1957 for Trani e Barletta (e Nazareth e Bisceglie), Italy. On December 24, 1982 he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Alba Maritima and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Korea. He was ordained Bishop on January 6, 1983.
On June, 20, 1987 he was appointed Official of the Roman Curia - Other, and a few years later, on June 11, 1993, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
On March 7, 1998 he was appointed Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops and ecretary of the College of Cardinals.
On July 3, 2009 he was appointed Archpriest of the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura {Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls Basilica}, which he retired from in 2012.
On November 20, 2010 he was appointed Cardinal-Deacon of San Paolo alla Regola and elevated to Cardinal. He was installed on February 12, 2011.
