By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
Former Catholic priest Sandro Ferretto, 55, has married Sharon Jepng’ok, a Tugen woman from Baringo South, Kenya, after leaving active priestly ministry in late 2023.
Ferretto married Jepng’ok in a traditional Kalenjin Koito ceremony on Sunday, 6 September, 2026 at Seretion village, Kasiela, where community elders, local leaders and relatives gathered to celebrate the union.
Dressed in matching orange-and-blue traditional attire decorated with intricate beadwork, Ferretto joined his bride in the Koito dance as songs, laughter and cheers filled the venue.
The celebration marked a sharp departure from the solemnity of the altar, where Ferretto had spent years serving as a Catholic missionary.
For 12 years, residents knew him as Father Sandro after he arrived in Kenya in 2008 as a missionary under the Diocese of Padua in Italy.
He served communities in Kasiela and Mochongoi under the Diocese of Nyahururu, becoming a familiar spiritual figure in the area.
Ferretto returned to Italy in 2020 to lead a pastoral unit in Borgo Veneto. Three years later, he left active ministry, ending his service under the Latin Rite, which requires Catholic priests to observe celibacy.
He later returned to Baringo, where he had served as a missionary and where his relationship with Jepng’ok had begun.
The September 6 ceremony formally united the couple under Kalenjin customary tradition, with the Koito proceedings featuring dowry negotiations and ancestral blessings.
The marriage brought together two distinct chapters of Ferretto’s life ; his years of Catholic missionary service in Kenya and his new life with a family rooted in the Tugen community.
As the celebrations continued, the former priest joined his bride and guests in dancing and singing, marking his transition from the priesthood to a new chapter centred on marriage, family and community.
