A 55-year-old Italian Catholic priest who previously served as a missionary in Kenya has left the priesthood and married a woman from Baringo County. Sandro Ferretto, who served in the Catholic parishes of Kasiela and Mochongoi, formalised his relationship with Jepng’ok through a traditional Kalenjin […] The post Cleric Leaves Priesthood, Marries Kenyan Woman in Traditional Ceremony appeared first on 263Chat .
A 55-year-old Italian Catholic priest who previously served as a missionary in Kenya has left the priesthood and married a woman from Baringo County.
Sandro Ferretto, who served in the Catholic parishes of Kasiela and Mochongoi, formalised his relationship with Jepng’ok through a traditional Kalenjin marriage ceremony on Sunday, 6 September.
The couple’s union was marked by a Koito ceremony, a customary rite that involves the coming together of the two families, including dowry negotiations and blessings from relatives and elders.
Family members, community elders, local leaders and Jepng’ok’s colleagues attended the ceremony in Baringo South.
The event marked a new chapter for Ferretto, who spent years working as a Catholic missionary in the region.
Ferretto was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Padua in Italy before travelling to Kenya in 2008 to begin his missionary work.
During his time in Baringo, he served under the Diocese of Nyahururu and became involved in pastoral activities, youth programmes and community development initiatives.
He returned to Italy in December 2020 together with fellow missionary priest Mariano Dal Ponte.
By 2023, Ferretto was leading a pastoral unit in Saletto, Borgo Veneto, where he was responsible for eight churches.
He later stepped down from the position and took a period of reflection before eventually returning to Kenya.
It was during his return to Kenya that he reunited with Jepng’ok, whom he had met while serving as a missionary in Baringo.
Their marriage has attracted attention in both Kenya and Italy, partly because of Ferretto’s longstanding relationship with the Baringo community and his decision to leave the Catholic priesthood and pursue family life.
The decision to marry has significant implications under Latin Catholic canon law, where priests are generally required to observe celibacy.
Canon 277 §1 states that clerics are obliged to observe “perfect and perpetual continence” and are therefore bound to celibacy.
Canon 1087 states that people in sacred orders cannot validly enter into marriage.
A priest who wishes to marry must therefore go through the relevant Church procedures to be dispensed from the obligations associated with clerical celibacy and, where applicable, be dismissed from the clerical state.
Ferretto’s marriage follows his decision to leave active priestly ministry, allowing him to begin a new chapter of his life with Jepng’ok.
The post Cleric Leaves Priesthood, Marries Kenyan Woman in Traditional Ceremony appeared first on 263Chat.
