Sandro Ferretto, born in Italy and a Catholic priest, has left the priesthood and married Sharon Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South, Kenya.
Ferretto, 55, spent 12 years serving communities in Baringo County. He and Jepng’ok held their traditional wedding ceremony on September 6 in Seretion village, Kasiela, where he once served as a parish priest, according to The Kenyan Times.
The couple marked their union with a Koito ceremony, a Kalenjin tradition that includes dowry negotiations and family blessings. Relatives, community elders, local leaders, and Jepng’ok’s colleagues were present.
Ferretto was ordained a Catholic priest for the diocese of Padua in Italy before beginning his missionary work in Kenya in 2008. He served in Kasiela and Mochongoi under the diocese of Nyahururu, where he became known for his pastoral work, youth programmes, and community development initiatives.
He went back to Italy in December 2020 with another missionary priest, Mariano Dal Ponte.
By 2023, he was in charge of a pastoral unit in Saletto, Borgo Veneto, where he looked after eight churches. He later stepped down from this role to take some time for reflection.
He then returned to Kenya and reunited with Jepng’ok, whom he first met while serving as a missionary in Baringo.
People in both Kenya and Italy have noticed the couple’s marriage, mainly because Ferretto had a long relationship with the Baringo community and moved from being a Catholic priest to starting a family.
Catholic law on priests and marriage
Under Latin Catholic canon law, priests are generally bound to celibacy and are prohibited from marrying.
Canon 277 §1 states that: “Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven, and are therefore bound to celibacy. Celibacy is a special gift of God by which sacred ministers can more easily remain close to Christ with an undivided heart, and can dedicate themselves more freely to the service of God and their neighbour.”
Canon 1087 adds: “Those who are in sacred orders invalidly attempt marriage. Invalide matrimonium attentant, qui in sacris ordinibus sunt constituti.”
So, if a priest wants to get married, he must first be released from his vow of celibacy or be removed from the priesthood, following church rules.
