Italian Priest Leaves Clergy and Marries Kenyan Woman in Traditional Ceremony

Sandro Ferretto, known locally as “Father Sandro,” returned to the Kenyan community where he once served as a Catholic priest and married Sharon Jepng’ok in a traditional ceremony.

The 55-year-old Italian married Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South, on September 6 at Seretion village in Kasiela. The location was the same area where Ferretto worked as a parish priest for 12 years. Their union followed a Koito ceremony, a Kalenjin customary rite that includes dowry negotiations and family blessings.

Relatives, community elders, local leaders and Jepng’ok’s colleagues reportedly attended the ceremony. Photos and videos show the couple in matching orange-and-blue traditional clothing and beaded gowns as they took part in Koito dance rites.

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. He returned to Italy in December 2020 and by 2023 led a pastoral unit covering eight churches in Saletto, Borgo Veneto.

In December 2023, Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino reported that he had abruptly left the post after a final Mass. The Diocese of Padua later confirmed his departure, saying he “remains a priest and is not involved in any controversy” and describing it as a requested pause from pastoral duties. Ferretto was later reported to have returned to Kenya, where he reunited with Jepng’ok, whom he met during his missionary years.

Under Latin Rite Catholic canon law, priests must remain celibate while in active ministry. A priest seeking to marry must obtain Vatican-approved laicisation, which removes clerical status and generally includes a dispensation from the celibacy obligation. Neither the Diocese of Padua nor the Diocese of Nyahururu has issued a statement on the marriage.

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remains a priest and is not involved in any controversy