[1] The family lived on a small farm near the Mississippi River, east of Dubuque, Iowa.

[1] On March 15, 1924, Binz was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Rockford at the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

[1] From 1936 to 1942, he served as secretary to Archbishop Amleto Giovanni Cicognani, the Apostolic Delegate to the United States.

[3] He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 21 from Archbishop Amleto Cicognani, with Bishops Henry Rohlman and Edward Hoban serving as co-consecrators, at St. James Pro-Cathedral in Rockford.

[4] He also established Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary, centralized all the offices of the diocese, and started the plans for building the first cathedral in Winona.

[1] He also established the North American Martyrs Retreat House in Cedar Falls, and expanded Catholic Charities in the archdiocese.

On December 16, 1961 Pope John XXIII named Binz the seventh bishop and fifth archbishop of Saint Paul.

He promoted active lay participation and Christian renewal in the Church through fraternal societies.