Italian priest quits priesthood, marries Kenyan woman in traditional ceremony

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Sandro Ferretto and Sharon Jepng’ok during their traditional wedding ceremony in Baringo, September 6, 2026. Photo: Kenya Times

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An Italian Catholic priest, Sandro Ferretto, 55, has left the priesthood and married a Kenyan woman, Sharon Jepng’ok, in a traditional ceremony in Baringo County, Kenya.

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Ferretto married Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South, on September 6 at Seretion village, Kasiela, the same area where he served as a Catholic parish priest for 12 years.

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The couple were joined through a Koito ceremony, a Kalenjin customary rite involving dowry negotiations and family blessings, with relatives, community elders, local leaders and Jepng’ok’s colleagues reportedly in attendance.

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Ferretto was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Padua in Italy and began missionary work in Kenya in 2008, serving the Kasiela and Mochongoi areas under the Diocese of Nyahururu.

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He was widely known in the community as “Father Sandro” during his years of service in Kenya.

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Ferretto returned to Italy in December 2020 and, by 2023, was leading a pastoral unit of eight churches in Saletto, Borgo Veneto, in the Diocese of Padua.

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In December 2023, Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino reported that Ferretto had abruptly stepped down from the post after a final Mass, giving little notice to his colleagues.

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The Diocese of Padua subsequently confirmed his exit, saying Ferretto “remains a priest and is not involved in any controversy” and describing the move as a requested pause from pastoral duties.

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He was later reported to have returned to Kenya, where he reunited with Jepng’ok, whom he had met during his years as a missionary in Baringo.

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Under Catholic canon law, priests of the Latin Rite are bound to celibacy and may not marry while remaining in active ministry.

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A priest who wishes to marry must obtain laicisation, a Vatican-approved process that removes clerical status and typically includes a dispensation from the obligation of celibacy.

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Neither the Diocese of Padua nor the Diocese of Nyahururu has issued a statement on the marriage.

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Photos and videos circulating from the ceremony show Ferretto and Jepng’ok dressed in matching orange-and-blue traditional attire with beaded gowns as they took part in the Koito dance rites at Seretion village.

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