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Former Italian priest marries Kenyan woman in traditional Kalenjin ceremony

By: Ismaeel Aleem

An Italian Catholic priest who previously served as a missionary in Kenya has left the priesthood and married a local woman in a traditional ceremony in Baringo County.
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‎Sandro Ferretto, 55, wed Sharon Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South, on 6 September at Seretion village in Kasiela the same area where he had worked as a Catholic parish priest for 12 years.
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‎The couple were united through a Koito ceremony, a Kalenjin customary rite that includes dowry negotiations and family blessings. Relatives, community elders, local leaders and colleagues of the bride attended the event.
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‎Ferretto, ordained a priest of the Diocese of Padua in Italy, began missionary work in Kenya in 2008. He served the Kasiela and Mochongoi areas under the Diocese of Nyahururu and was widely known in the community simply as “Father Sandro.”
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‎He returned to Italy in December 2020 and by 2023 was leading a pastoral unit of eight churches in Saletto, Borgo Veneto, within the Padua diocese. In December 2023 he abruptly stepped down after a final Mass, giving little notice to colleagues.
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‎The Diocese of Padua confirmed his departure at the time, stating that Ferretto “remains a priest and is not involved in any controversy” and describing the move as a requested pause from pastoral duties.
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‎He was reported to be volunteering with a Padua-based migrant support group during that period.
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‎Ferretto later returned to Kenya, where he reunited with Jepng’ok, whom he had met during his years as a missionary in Baringo.
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‎Under Catholic canon law, priests of the Latin Rite are bound to celibacy and may not marry while remaining in active ministry. A priest who wishes to marry must first obtain laicisation a Vatican-approved process that removes clerical status and typically includes a dispensation from the vow of celibacy. Without it, a priest’s marriage is not recognised by the Church.
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‎Neither the Diocese of Padua nor the Diocese of Nyahururu has issued a statement on the marriage.
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‎Photographs and video from the ceremony show Ferretto and Jepng’ok dressed in matching orange-and-blue traditional attire with beaded gowns, taking part in the Koito dance rites before a crowd of well-wishers at Seretion village.

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