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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Culture & Society

Italian priest leaves Catholic Church and marries Kenyan woman in traditional ceremony

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Sandro Ferretto, a 55-year-old former Italian Catholic priest, married Sharon Jepng’ok in a traditional Koito ceremony in Baringo County, Kenya.
  • Ferretto served as a missionary and parish priest in the area for 12 years before returning to Italy and later leaving pastoral duties.
  • Catholic priests of the Latin Rite must obtain laicisation and a dispensation from celibacy to marry while remaining outside active clerical ministry; neither relevant diocese has commented on the marriage.

Sandro Ferretto returned to the Kenyan community where he once served as a Catholic priest, this time to marry Sharon Jepng’ok in a traditional ceremony. The 55-year-old Italian wed Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South, on Sept. 6 in Seretion village, Kasiela, the same area where he had worked as a parish priest for 12 years.

The couple were joined through a Koito ceremony, a Kalenjin customary rite involving dowry negotiations and blessings from the families. Relatives, community elders, local leaders and Jepng’ok’s colleagues attended. Photos and video from the event show the couple in matching orange-and-blue traditional clothing and participating in Koito dances before well-wishers.

Ferretto was ordained in the Diocese of Padua and began missionary work in Kenya in 2008, serving the Kasiela and Mochongoi areas under the Diocese of Nyahururu. The community knew him simply as “Father Sandro.” He returned to Italy in December 2020 and later led a pastoral unit covering eight churches in Saletto, Borgo Veneto, in the Padua diocese.

In December 2023, Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino reported that he had abruptly stepped down after a final Mass. The Diocese of Padua confirmed his departure and said he “remains a priest and is not involved in any controversy,” describing it as a requested pause from pastoral duties. He was also reported to be volunteering with a migrant support group in Padua.

Ferretto later returned to Kenya and reunited with Jepng’ok, whom he had met during his missionary years in Baringo. Under Catholic canon law, Latin-Rite priests must remain celibate while in active ministry. A priest who wants to marry must obtain laicisation, a Vatican-approved process that removes clerical status and generally includes a dispensation from the celibacy vow. Neither the Diocese of Padua nor the Diocese of Nyahururu has issued a statement on the marriage.

remains a priest and is not involved in any controversy

· Diocese of PaduaThe diocese used the wording when confirming Ferretto’s departure from pastoral duties in 2023.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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