55-Year-Old Italian Priest Leaves Priesthood, Marries Kenyan Woman

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

Ferretto and Jepng’ok reportedly tied the knot on Sunday, September 6, 2026, during a colourful Koito ceremony held at Seretion village in Kasiela, Baringo South.

The ceremony was attended by relatives, community elders, local leaders, friends and well-wishers.
Koito is a traditional Kalenjin marriage ceremony involving family introductions, dowry negotiations, customary rites and blessings from elders.

Ferretto, an Italian national, was ordained a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Padua, Italy, before travelling to Kenya in 2008 as a missionary.

He subsequently served for about 12 years in the Kasiela and Mochongoi areas under the Diocese of Nyahururu, where he became well known among residents as “Father Sandro.”

It was reportedly during his years of missionary service in Baringo that he met Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South.

After years of missionary work in Kenya, Ferretto returned to Italy in December 2020.

By 2023, he was reportedly serving as the head of a pastoral unit comprising eight churches in Saletto, Borgo Veneto, under the Diocese of Padua.
However, Italian newspaper Il Gazzettino reported in December 2023 that Ferretto stepped down from the position after celebrating a final Mass, reportedly giving little notice to his colleagues.

The Diocese of Padua subsequently confirmed his departure, stating that Ferretto remained a priest and that there was no controversy surrounding the decision. The diocese described it as a requested pause from pastoral duties.

During the period, Ferretto was also reportedly involved in volunteer activities supporting migrants in Padua.

He later returned to Kenya, where he reunited with Jepng’ok, whom he had reportedly known during his missionary years.

What Catholic Law Says About Priests and Marriage
The Catholic Church requires priests of the Latin Church to observe celibacy while serving in active priestly ministry.

A priest who wishes to marry ordinarily has to undergo the formal process of laicisation, through which he is released from the obligations and rights associated with the clerical state. A dispensation from the obligation of celibacy is also generally required.

Without the necessary canonical procedures, a marriage involving a Catholic priest would not be recognised as valid by the Church.
As of the time of publication, neither the Diocese of Padua nor the Diocese of Nyahururu had publicly issued a specific statement concerning Ferretto's reported marriage to Jepng’ok.

Photographs and videos circulating from the ceremony showed Ferretto and Jepng’ok dressed in matching orange-and-blue traditional attire as they participated in the Koito rites surrounded by family members, elders and well-wishers.

Ferretto's reported marriage has attracted considerable attention because he returned to the Kenyan community where he spent many years as a missionary and eventually married a woman he had met during his time there.

His journey from an Italian Catholic missionary priest to a married man has sparked interest in Kenya and beyond.