Italian priest quits vocation, marries Kenyan woman in traditional ceremony

By Damilola Akinwale –

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

Ferretto married Jepng’ok in Seretion village, Kasiela, on Sunday, having served as a Catholic parish priest in the area for 12 years.

The couple tied the knot through a customary rite involving dowry negotiations and family blessings, in the presence of relatives, community elders and Jepng’ok’s colleagues.

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. He was renowned for his pastoral work, youth programmes and community development initiatives during his years of service in Kenya.

He 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. He later stepped down from the position to take a period of reflection.

In December 2023, Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino reported that Ferretto had abruptly stepped down after a final Mass, giving little notice to his colleagues. The Diocese of Padua later confirmed his exit, describing it as a requested pause from pastoral duties and stating that he “remains a priest and is not involved in any controversy.”

Ferretto subsequently returned to Kenya, where he reunited with Jepng’ok, whom he had met during his missionary service in Baringo. Photos and videos from the ceremony show the couple dressed in matching orange-and-blue traditional attire with beaded gowns as they took part in the Koito dance rites at Seretion village.

Under Catholic canon law, Latin Rite priests are bound to celibacy and may not marry while remaining in active ministry. A priest wishing to marry must obtain laicisation, a Vatican-approved process that removes clerical status and typically includes a dispensation from the obligation of celibacy. Neither the Diocese of Padua nor the Diocese of Nyahururu has issued a statement on the marriage.