St. Patrick Catholic Church, Kent "My Path to Priesthood from Nigeria to the United States"

Growing up, Bridling's parents did all they could do so he could receive the best education possible. He never told his parents that he was going to be a priest, out of fear that his parents would object given that priests take vows of celibacy, cannot marry, and cannot have children. Christians were often persecuted in his homeland, and his parents knew that his life as a Priest would certainly include danger and the risk of violence or death. When his parents found out, they were both very proud of him, and full endorsed his vocation to the priesthood. 

The journey to priesthood was not always easy or fun for Bridling because Maiduguri has a large Islamic population and for hundreds of years, Christianity has not been welcome. Christians often face threat of abduction, persecution, torture and death from the anti-Christian Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram, which exerts control over large parts of the country. 

From 2006 to 2012, Fr. Bridling and his faith community experienced many violent run ins with Boko Haram, as Maiduguri became the scene of major Christian violence, which peaked in 2009-2010. This period included the bombing of his home twice, the bombing of his church and the rectory. Nevertheless, he preserved, and led his parish community forward, and served as a pillar of strength, courage and joy.

In 1999, while pursuing his doctorate in Rome, he met Fr. Raymond J. Thomas, a parish priest in the diocese of Youngstown, OH who was Victor at a parish in Ashtabula. The two became friends, and from 1999-2012, he visited the United States many times as a guest of the Diocese. 

After a period of peace returned to Nigeria, and religious violence subsided, Bridling accepted a position in Ohio, and officially moved to the United States in 2012. 

Over the last decade, he has served as pastor and vicar at a number of parishes in NE Ohio, and has also spent time in the state of Texas. 

Today, Rev. Bridling serves as Pastor and Vicar of St. Patrick's and the KSU Newman Center, where he oversees the spiritual life of two parishes while also managing all administrative and business functions of one of the largest parishes in the Diocese of Youngstown. 

He received his Ph.D. in Theology and his Ecclesiastical Degree (Licentiate In Theology) from the Pontifical University of Salesiana in Rome, and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Urbanian University in Rome. 

He became a priest in 1995, and has devoted his life to proclaiming the Gospel, while exuding a human spirit that can only be described as "sovereign joy."