Kenyan Reverend Father Edwin Gathang'i Waiguru, ordained with the canonical Catholic Church, got married to his long-term friend Margaret Wanjira Githui after defecting to a Roman Catholic splinter group known as the Catholic Charismatic church, the country's broadcaster NTV Kenya reported.
The matrimonial ceremony, which was attended by hundreds of the couple’s family and friends, reportedly took place in the town of Githunguri in central Kenya after Father Waiguru was ordained as a priest of the Catholic Charismatic church on the same day.
He realized that he wanted to have a family when he returned home after spending several years preaching in North and South America, the media said.
"I am very happy. To my wife, I promise to love you always," Father Waiguru was quoted by the media as saying.
According to the outlet, Bishop Patrick Mulau of Charismatic church in the country's central county, Kirinyaga, presided over the ordination ceremony. The Bishop explained that, while being solely Roman Catholic, his church has a different attitude to the sacrament of marriage, according to which priests of this church are allowed to marry.
A similar story happened in 2006 in Kenya, when Bishop Godfrey Siundu reportedly ditched celibacy and married the love of his life, a nun. Moreover, the bishop broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and established the Ecumenical Catholic Church of Christ, another media noted. According to the outlet, Siundu highlighted that the celibacy principle of the Roman Catholic Church ought to be modifies and priests must be allowed to choose whether to marry or not.