Former Italian priest leaves Catholic Church to marry Kenyan partner in viral ceremony

• Father Sandro Ferretto, 55, an Italian-born Catholic priest, has abandoned the priesthood to start a family.

• Ferretto got married to Sharon Jepng'ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South, in a ceremony that followed the Kalenjin cultural rites.

• Father Ferretto's marriage is the latest in a long-standing pattern of priests leaving the priesthood and sometimes the Catholic Church altogether to start families.

Kenyan media has reported the story of 55-year-old Italian Catholic Priest Father Sandro Ferretto, who officially left the priesthood to wed his partner Sharon Jepng'ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South of Kenya.

Viral videos which circulated on social media showed a visibly excited Ferretto dressed in a suit, having a dance with his new bride in the ceremony that reportedly took place in Kenya on Saturday September 6, 2026.

Father Sandro Ferretto was ordained a Catholic priest for the Diocese of Padua, Italy, before beginning his missionary work in Kenya in 2008. Before electing to trade his priestly robes for a wedding suit, Ferretto served as a missionary priest for 12 years at the Diocese of Nyahururu in the Kasiela and Mochongoi areas of Baringo County.

According to reports in Kenyan media outlets such as Tuko, the former priest met his now-bride Sharon during his missionary work in the Baringo region, and their relationship deepened until he made the decision to leave his priestly duties and pursue a family life with her.

Their wedding ceremony took place at Seretion Village, Kasiela, Baringo South region of Kenya, in a Koito ceremony that followed the Kalenjin cultural rites involving formal dowry negotiations and receiving of family blessings.

So far, the Catholic Church hasn't reacted to the development. Under the Priestly rules, catholic priests take a vow of celibacy. This requires them to leave the priesthood and be released from all clerical obligations before getting married. By virtue of Ferretto's marriage, he appears to have abandoned active ministry to start a family.

Father Ferretto and Sharon's wedding continues a long history of Catholic Priests leaving the priesthood to start a family. Kenya, in particular, is no stranger to such situations. A 2018 report by media platform Crux Now documents the story of former Catholic priest Father Njogu, who left the Catholic Church, joined the breakaway Renewed Universal Catholic Church and married his partner, Berith Karimi Njogu. A 2023 report by Church Leaders (RNS) also tells the story of Reverend Edwin Githang'i Waiguru, who left the Catholic church to join the splinter Catholic Charismatic Church in 2023 after getting married to his partner.

While the Vatican has historically shown willingness to make changes that reflect the Catholic Church's capacity to evolve in doctrines, there's yet to be any change to the restriction on priests to get married and start families.