TESTIMONIES: Her companions in New York:

Let us now follow Dina during the two years that she spent in New York. It was a period of hard work in her studies, of very happy moments as a consequence of her passionate love of music, of living it all with the lively energy of a young woman who explored all that surrounded her in that great metropolis, of daily contacts by letter with her parents, in order to thank them for their sacrifice and that they should not feel the pain of separation too much.

Dina was there with two Canadian companions: Bernadette and Aline.

The two saw her as a friendly young woman, who unselfishly tried to please. She worked very hard at her musical studies, but was also capable of breaking the monotony and laughing at some joke. Dina was very cheerful, laughed easily and accepted that we should jokingly pull her leg. She had will power that was strong and disciplined and was both firm and gentle at one and the same time. She was very tidy and careful with things, but never referred to the fact that we were not … she pretended not to notice.

She was really shy, but overcame this when she had to entertain others. In conversation she was always ready with a word to set the other person at ease. She was reserved, not easily excited, but so friendly that nobody could imagine the efforts that she made to be entertaining.

Dina’s strong character, which was evident even when she was very small, continued to occasionally betray her and be a source of suffering. One day a rather unkind remark was made about her manner of playing the piano. Bernadette tells us: I was in my room. When I saw her enter I noticed how very pale she was and asked: What’s the matter? Are you ill?  She burst into tears. I repeated my question … through her tears she told me: “I am very proud. What they have just said to me is true”. Dina accepted the rather exaggerated comment, but rebelled inwardly. Some years later she met the person but was so pleasant and discreet that nobody would have believed that something so disagreeable had previously taken place.

Bernadette, with whom she shared a room, suggested in Holy Week that they should pray during the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday.  Dina was happy with the idea, but did not want their other friends to know about it.  We dimmed the light and prayed for an hour. Dina always followed faithfully the programme of daily prayer that she had drawn up in Quebec. Taking her health into account she could have omitted the daily Mass, but did not even dream of doing so. Aline adds that every evening, she saw Dina praying with fervour at the altar rails, for half or three quarters of an hour, not moving, with her head in her hands.

During the holidays, Bernadette tells us that they went to Chicoutimi (Quebec) by boat.  On the return journey they found that, due to a misunderstanding, the cabins hey had reserved were not available. In the evening a passenger, who was half drunk came to the lounge where we were. Dina noticed my anxiety and said “You’ll see, we will get a cabin” and she began to cough. An employee offered her a woollen blanket but she continued to cough. At about one o’clock in the morning the employee returned triumphantly, saying that he had a cabin for us. On entering, Dina, seated on the bed, began to laugh: “I told you that we would have a cabin”, for a moment I also found it funny, but then realised that she had planned it to help me, when she had noticed my anxiety.