Italian priest quits Catholic Church, marries Kenyan woman in traditional ceremony

Sandro Ferretto and Sharon Jepng'ok during their traditional wedding ceremony in Baringo, September 6, 2026. Photo: Kenya Times

An Italian Catholic priest, Sandro Ferretto, has left the priesthood and married a Kenyan woman, Sharon Jepng’ok, in a traditional ceremony in Baringo County, Kenya.

Ferretto, 55, wed Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South, on September 6 at Seretion village, Kasiela — the same area where he served as a Catholic parish priest for 12 years, according to the Kenya Times, which broke the story alongside Kenyan outlet Tuko.co.ke.

The couple were joined through a Koito ceremony, a Kalenjin customary rite involving dowry negotiation and family blessings. Relatives, community elders, local leaders and Jepng’ok’s colleagues reportedly attended.

Ferretto was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Padua in Italy and began missionary work in Kenya in 2008, serving the Kasiela and Mochongoi areas under the Diocese of Nyahururu, according to diocesan records and Padua newspaper Il Gazzettino.