TRENDING: Italian priest leaves priesthood after 12 years and marries Kenyan woman

After 12 years of ministry in Kenya, Italian-born Catholic priest Sandro Ferretto has married Sharon Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo County. The couple exchanged vows on Sept. 6 in a traditional ceremony at Seretion Village in Kasiela, where Ferretto once served as parish priest.

Relatives, local leaders, elders and friends of the bride attended the Koito ceremony, an important Kalenjin custom involving dowry negotiations and family blessings. In the area, residents knew Ferretto as “Father Sandro” after more than a decade of work with families, youth organisations and church congregations.

Ferretto, 55, began his priesthood in Italy before arriving in Kenya in 2008 for missionary service. Working under the Diocese of Nyahururu around Kasiela and Mochongoi, he took part in pastoral outreach, youth programmes and community development projects in Baringo. He returned to Italy in December 2020 with another missionary, Father Mariano Dal Ponte.

In 2023, Ferretto took responsibility for a pastoral unit in Saletto, Borgo Veneto, covering eight churches in the Diocese of Padua. His tenure lasted only several months. He celebrated his final Mass in December 2023 before stepping aside for a period of reflection, a decision that reportedly surprised colleagues because he gave little notice. The diocese later said he had withdrawn from pastoral duties but remained a priest, describing the move as a requested period away from ministry. During the break, he reportedly volunteered with a migrant support group in Padua.

Ferretto later returned to Kenya and reunited with Jepng’ok, whom he had met during his missionary work. Catholic canon law requires Latin Rite priests to remain celibate while in active ministry. A priest who wishes to marry must first be formally removed from the clerical state through Vatican-approved laicisation, normally including a dispensation from celibacy.