Sister Antonia Bina and Sister Raphael Bina are biological sisters who both became Notre Dame Sisters in 1940. They came to Notre Dame from Spillville, Iowa, and are very grateful for this Czech community and the support they have always received from friends and family in Spillville.
Sister Antonia became a housekeeping Sister, as it was known in 1940. She worked in parishes, on missions, and at the Motherhouse for many years. Her primary responsibilities were cooking and keeping house and yard for her Sisters. Sister Antonia always found time for other ministries as well no matter where she served. She often visited parishioners and took on volunteer jobs such as teaching CCD classes.
Sister Raphael spent many years at Notre Dame using her artistic talents to assist Sister Januaria in making elaborately embroidered and decorated vestments for priests. Sister Raphael also worked with Sister Wenceslaus to keep up the large Notre Dame convent grounds and vegetable gardens. One special task that she recalls, out of her many ministries, was taking care of a Sister whose health was failing and making sure that Sister ate five nutritious meals a day. No matter where Sister Raphael was in the convent or the yard when the time came around, she made sure to get a meal or a snack to that ailing Sister.
Sister Raphael is no longer able to travel comfortably, but recently Sister Antonia made a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Europe, where she visited the Notre Dame General Motherhouse in the Czech Republic. You can read about Sister Antonia's pilgrimage in the letter she wrote shortly after her return.

Sr. Antonia's Letter

October 25, 2002
Dear Friends in Christ and Sojourners of the Pilgrimage of Sep./Oct. 2002,
What a lovely group of people all deeply rooted in their deep faith and love of Jesus and His Church! I was most privileged to be among this special group during the 2 weeks of our pilgrimage and tour of the Czech Republic and cities of (formerly) Czechoslovakia in Europe.
These two great stupendous weeks were so beautiful. They were the best I ever experienced in my daily life overseas. I must mention as we traveled by chartered bus these many days, that we had our morning prayer, recited the Psalms of the Magnificat, prayed many Rosaries, and the Divine Mercy Rosary every day. These prayers and daily Mass, helped keep us in good standing with our loving God.
On Monday, September 23 we left Omaha on a flight to Chicago which took one hour. Then we had four hours to wait to board the big Lufthansa jet with room for 560 people. This plane flew higher and higher to my great delight as we flew into the clouds. At last the sight of the earthly world faded into the snow white clouds and it felt like we were going to heaven, a thousand miles higher. Over the ocean we had a seven hour flight to Prague. What a beautiful city with all of its Basilicas, Cathedrals, Monasteries, Churches and Castles. There were many tall apartment buildings, beautiful town squares, and open air eating places or restaurants. You did not see residential homes in this area because of the busy streets, cable cars, and taxi cabs. Once you got out of the great busy cities, you saw homes.
We traveled many long hours by chartered bus to other cities. As we traveled we saw many large fields of vegetables, cabbages, onions, beets, carrots, potatoes and more. We saw many farm homes as we were traveling the beautiful highways. There were some very long hours of riding the bus and also lots of walking where the bus could not enter. I am sure we walked many miles each day.
On the third day, September 25th, we attended an early morning Mass at 7:00 a.m. at St. Vitus Cathedral. The Mass was said in Czech and offered by an elderly priest. This was very dear to my heart because in my childhood days, Mass was said in Czech in our home town of Spillville, Iowa, at St. Wenceslaus Church.
On the fourth day, we were visiting the beautiful big churches, chapels, oratories, and Svata Hora, Holy Hill Marian Shrine. In Uysehard, we saw the beautiful Gothic Churches of Peter and Paul and also visited the big famous cemetery. Here there are buried many bishops, priests, and sisters. Also we found the tomb of Antonin Dvorak, the great musician who spent one summer in my hometown of Spillville, Iowa. While there he composed the great Humeresque at the Turkey River in our park in Spillville. Dvorak also lived in the very home in Spillville that my parents purchased after he went back to Europe. We lived there many years. Also Sr. Raphael, my brother George, and I were all born in that home. Later we moved to a farm. What a coincidence for me to visit his tombstone and grave after so many years. Then afterwards we had excursions to South Bohemia and visited the Ceske Budejouric, Ceshy Krumlov and a Cistercia Monastery in Ahyssi Brad close to the Austrian border.
Stepping back for one day on September 28, the feast day of St. Wenceslaus, we had a mid-morning Mass at 10:30 a.m. at St. Wenceslaus Church in Smichov. This Mass was attended by about a thousand Czech people from the cities. The cardinal from Rome and Bishop Olomca from the Czech Republic presided at the Mass. There were many priests and over one hundred Sisters in the front rows close to the sanctuary. I was very privileged to be among these dear Czech Sisters, who are so dear to my heart. They all wore their religious habits and looked like angels around the altar. After Mass, I was privileged to speak to the Bishop and the Cardinal in our native Czech language. This was the most beautiful Mass I attended with such great solemnity and holy reverence. This was a great event for me because it reminded me of my dear hometown of Spillville, Iowa, and the great celebrations there like the 175 years we celebrated for our church of St. Wenceslaus.
After this celebration we toured the old big town square. We were walking and visiting sites such as Saint Agnes Church with all of its huge Gothic side altars. Stay with us a little longer as we continue on...
On September 29th, Sunday, we drove to South Moravia, and saw the beautiful Kutna Hora, St. Barbara Cathedral and Convent in Tisnov and Porta Caeli and the big Basilica of Petrov. We also traveled to the Motherhouse in Hradce Kralove to visit our dear Notre Dame Sisters. WE had Mass at 12:30 in their beautiful chapel and convent. After Mass the dear Sisters ushered us to their big dining room where they had tables set up and prepared many plates of kolaches and coffee. They were so happy, so hospitable and glad we came to visit them. Then they showed us the kitchen and convent. We spent quite a time visiting. When we were deciding to leave for our chartered bus, they all came out with us to the bus and were waving their white handkerchiefs goodbye. They looked like beautiful angels. Our group of people really enjoyed the Sisters. They said they liked it the best of our whole pilgrimage. They were all out there until they saw us drive away with the bus.
September 30th, Monday, we went daytouring in Bono and saw more beautiful elegant churches in Velehard and famous Basilicas. There were many long hours of bus driving through these cities in this beautiful wine country. There were beautiful highways with tall trees on each side of the road. This was after we left the big busy town squares with restaurant after restaurant.
One big event I can't omit is the cruise we went on, on the St. Charles River. The big ship cruises in the evening from 7:00-9:30 p.m. What a delight to ride on the water and to see the cities as we were cruising along! We were having our luscious evening meal while being serenaded by a Czech accordion player. We were seeing all of the city lights and the busy traffic streets as we were floating along. I am sure God was floating along with us.
On Tuesday, October 1st, we walked up a very high hill. I thought I'd give up my soul, before I got there. This is where the Chapel of the Black Madonna with the Child Jesus in her arms is located. We had a Latin Mass there. There was a beautiful high altar where the Madonna was. After Mass we all had the grace to venerate the Madonna with the Child Jesus. From here we traveled by bus which was many hours and many miles to Warsaw and Krackow, Poland.
At Krakow, we visited Saint Faustina's Convent, the beautiful high altar, and her tombstone, where we also venerated a special relic of Saint Faustina. From here we went on to Poland where we visited the residential home of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II. We toured the rooms and saw portraits of his family and of his early childhood days. What a blessing to be able to see the home where our dear Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, lived.
The streets in these cities, as we were in the midst of them, were filled with people. There were hundreds of them who were visiting and shopping in the town squares. We met people from New York, Texas, Canada, India and other places as we melted into the crowd. These great crowds of visitors and tourists were on pilgrimages also. We walked along in the hustle and the bustle of the city in the town squares. I met more priests and sisters just walking along. They were always offering their hand to me as a greeting and exchanging a few words of Czech language. What a delight I felt and I was right at home with them!
In Krackow, we stopped at the Bishop's residence and had a private audience with him. Bishop Olmoouc also went to Svaatz Kopecuk, the sacred hill in Krackow.
October 2nd, in the morning, we went to the places of execution at Kaluara, Zebozdouskaa, Wadource and Auschwitz. What a sad, sorry place we have seen. There were big homes where the prisoners, people of God, were tortured horribly and most cruelly. We saw the rooms, the places of torture. They are too numerous and sad to talk about. There is also the room where Saint Maximillian Kolbe died. They keep flowers and a vigil lamp and lights burning in his memory at this site.
On October 3rd, we traveled to Warsaw. Then we visited the Franciscan Monastery connected with Maximillian Kolbe's home. This is in Nilpokaloneu where in his living room is a big beautiful bronze statue of him. I put my hand into his and prayed for a special intention. We also visited the beautiful chapel where he and the monks lived.
My other pilgrimages of the years before were outstanding, great, and beautiful, but this one overseas, to Europe, was the highlight of my life. The memories are very moving in my heart, mind, soul and spirit. Everything impressed me so much I can still live the vivid scenes as if I was there again.
October 4th we were out of our beds at the motel and getting ready to leave at 3:30 in the morning to leave for the airport in Warsaw. Here we would get back on the big Lufthansa airplane to take us back overseas and home. The flight took 10 hours over the ocean, which was longer because of the turbulence in the air over the ocean waves. We came into O'Hare Airport at Chicago and had four hours to wait again to board another plane to Omaha. We arrived home about 6:30 p.m. at Eppley Airport.
Thanks be to God for such a wonderful experience of my life. I made it even with all of the long, long walking we had to do and seeing the big town squares, churches, and all the sight-seeing. Then back to my Omaha Notre Dame Convent and my dear Sister Raphael, whom I missed very much. God be praised!
Gratefully and Prayerfully yours,
Sr. M. Antonia Bina, ND