Italian Catholic Priest Sandro Ferretto Quits, Marries Kenyan Woman After Years of Missionary Work
An Italian-born former Catholic priest, Sandro Ferretto, has left the priesthood and married a Kenyan woman he reportedly met during his years of missionary service in the country.
Ferretto, 55, married Sharon Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South, Kenya, during a traditional Koito ceremony held on September 6, 2026, at Seretion Village in Kasiela, where the former priest once served.
The colourful ceremony brought together family members, community elders, local leaders, friends and colleagues as the couple began a new chapter together.
Ferretto was ordained a Catholic priest for the Diocese of Padua in Italy before travelling to Kenya in 2008 to begin missionary work.
He spent about 12 years serving communities in Baringo County, particularly in Kasiela and Mochongoi under the Diocese of Nyahururu.
During his time in the region, he became known locally as Father Sandro and was involved in pastoral activities, youth programmes and community development initiatives.
His long association with the area made him a familiar figure within the communities where he worked.
Ferretto returned to Italy in December 2020 alongside fellow missionary priest Mariano Dal Ponte.
By 2023, he was overseeing a pastoral unit in Saletto, Borgo Veneto, where he was responsible for eight churches.
However, he later stepped down from the position to take a period of personal reflection, according to reports.
He subsequently returned to Kenya, where he reconnected with Jepng’ok, whom he had met during his earlier missionary work in Baringo.
The couple’s wedding was conducted according to the Koito, a traditional Kalenjin marriage ceremony involving family participation, dowry negotiations and blessings from relatives and elders.
The ceremony took place in the same Baringo community where Ferretto had previously served as a Catholic priest.
Images and videos from the celebration have since circulated online, showing Ferretto dressed in a suit and celebrating with his bride and guests.
The marriage has attracted attention because of Ferretto’s long history as a Catholic missionary in the region and his decision to leave clerical life before starting a family.
The development has also raised questions about the Catholic Church’s position on priests marrying.
Under Latin Catholic canon law, Catholic priests are generally bound to celibacy. Canon 277 addresses the obligation of clerics to observe celibacy, while Canon 1087 states that those in sacred orders cannot validly contract marriage while remaining in that state.
A priest seeking to marry would therefore need to go through the appropriate Church procedures, including being released from the clerical state and receiving the necessary dispensation from the obligations associated with celibacy.
Reports have not publicly confirmed whether Ferretto completed every formal canonical process required for his marriage to receive recognition from the Catholic Church.
Ferretto’s decision marks a significant change from the life he had spent building as a Catholic missionary.
After more than a decade serving communities in Kenya, he has now chosen a different path centred on marriage and family life with Jepng’ok.
For the people of Baringo who knew him during his years of missionary work, the wedding also represents the return of a familiar figure to a community where he spent a substantial part of his adult life.
The story has generated considerable interest in Kenya and beyond, with many people focusing on the unusual transition from Catholic missionary to husband within the same community where Ferretto once served as a priest.
