Versaldi was born in 1943 in Villarboit in the Province of Vercelli, Region of Piedmont, and was ordained a priest on 29 June 1967. In 1972 he was sent to Rome to study psychology and then canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he earned a degree in psychology and a doctorate in canon law. Versaldi returned to Vercelli in 1976, where he was given the task of starting the diocesan Family Counseling centre. At the same time he attended courses at the Roman Rota. He received his law degree in 1980.
In 1977 he was made pastor of the Parish of Larizza. Beginning in 1980 he taught canon law and psychology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 1985 he was appointed by the Holy See as tribunal clerk of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, as a voting member in 1990,[1] and a member of the Supreme Council of the Apostolic Signatura in 2007.[2]
On 25 March 1994 he was appointed Vicar General of Vercelli by Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone.
Pope Benedict XVI named him Bishop of Alessandria on 4 April 2007.[3] He was consecrated on 26 May 2007 by Enrico Masseroni, Archbishop of Vercelli, and Bishops Fernando Charrier and Natalino Pescarolo as co-consecrators. He was installed on 10 June 2007.
On 13 February 2019, Versaldi signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education, University and ResearchMarco Bussetti for the application of the Lisbon Recognition Convention for the mutual recognition of the academic qualifications released by the Italian public universities and by the Holy See's pontifical institutes. The agreement widened the variety of academic titles recognized for the teaching of Roman Catholic religion in the Italian public primary and secondary schools.[10][11]
On 4 March 2022, he was elevated to the rank of cardinal priest.[12]