Italian Missionary Priest Leaves Priesthood to Marry Kenyan Woman in Baringo
An Italian-born Catholic priest who spent more than a decade serving communities in Kenya’s Baringo County has left the priesthood and married a Kenyan woman in a traditional Kalenjin ceremony.
Sandro Ferretto, 55, married Sharon Jepng’ok, a woman from Baringo South, during a Koito ceremony held on Sunday, September 6, 2026, at Seretion Village in Kasiela, Baringo County.
The ceremony brought together relatives, community elders, local leaders and Sharon’s colleagues as the couple formally began their married life.
From Italy to Baringo
Ferretto was ordained a Catholic priest for the Diocese of Padua in Italy before coming to Kenya in 2008 as a missionary.
He served in areas including Kasiela and Mochongoi under the Diocese of Nyahururu, becoming a familiar figure among residents in Baringo.
During his 12 years of missionary service in the region, Ferretto was involved in pastoral ministry, youth programmes and community development initiatives.
Many residents knew him simply as “Father Sandro.”
He returned to Italy in December 2020 alongside fellow missionary priest Father Mariano Dal Ponte. By 2023, he was serving as head of a pastoral unit in Saletto, Borgo Veneto, overseeing eight churches.
Later that year, reports indicated that he had stepped away from that position for a period of personal reflection. He subsequently returned to Kenya.
Marriage to a Kenyan woman
Ferretto and Jepng’ok reportedly first met during his years of missionary service in Baringo.
Their marriage was celebrated through a Koito ceremony, an important Kalenjin customary process involving families, elders, dowry negotiations and the blessing of the union.
The decision to marry has attracted attention because of Ferretto’s previous role as a Catholic priest and his long-standing relationship with the Baringo community.
What happens when a Catholic priest wants to marry?
Catholic priests in the Latin Church are ordinarily bound by the discipline of celibacy.
A priest who wishes to leave the clerical state and marry normally needs to undergo a formal process known as laicization, which removes his clerical status and includes a dispensation from the obligation of celibacy.
Reports about Ferretto describe him as having left the priesthood, but publicly available reports do not clearly establish all the details of his canonical status or whether the full Vatican process had been completed before his marriage.
A new chapter in Baringo
For Ferretto, the marriage marks a significant new chapter after years of religious service in Kenya and Italy.
His decision has also generated considerable interest among people who knew him during his missionary years, particularly in Baringo, where he spent much of his time serving local communities.
The former priest is now beginning married life with Jepng’ok in the same Kenyan region where he built a close connection with the community during his years of missionary work.
