Making it Personal with Bishop William Joensen

The Doctor and the Eucharist: Dr. Diana Marar on Faith, Medicine, and Ministry in Council Bluffs – 07/18/2026

Episode Summary

Bishop William Joensen and co-host Jean Thill sit down with Dr. Diana Marar, an internal medicine physician in Council Bluffs, Iowa, whose remarkable ministry brings the Eucharist directly to hospital patients. Dr. Marar shares her journey from Jordan's Melkite Christian community to the Catholic Church, describing how her deep prayer life and devotion to the Rosary shape both her medical practice and her Eucharistic ministry. The conversation also covers diocesan news, including the Saint Louis Archdiocese bicentennial, the Biking for Babies fundraiser, and the Pilgrim Mother statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe's tour through the Diocese of Des Moines.

Episode Notes

Segment 1: Diocesan News & Community Updates
Bishop Joensen and Jean Thill open with news from around the diocese and beyond:

• The Archdiocese of St. Louis celebrates its bicentennial this weekend, with Bishop Joensen joining Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski and fellow Midwest bishops for vespers at the Old Cathedral and Mass at the New Cathedral.
• The National Biking for Babies ride passed through Des Moines this week, stopping at St. Francis of Assisi Parish for Mass with over 200 gathered. The ride, founded nearly two decades ago, has raised more than $2.5 million for pregnancy resource centers, including those in central Iowa.
• A special Mass for Our Lady of Mount Carmel marked the arrival of the Pilgrim Mother statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, touring the Diocese of Des Moines ahead of the 500th anniversary of Our Lady of Guadalupe's apparitions in 2031. The statue's diocesan tour stops include St. Ambrose Cathedral, Our Lady of the Americas, Our Lady of the Immaculate Heart, St. Boniface in Waukee, St. Bernard in Osceola, and Corpus Christi in Council Bluffs.
• A special Mass at Our Lady of the Americas featured Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Báez of Managua, Nicaragua, who has been living in exile due to political persecution in his home country and currently teaches at a seminary in Miami.

Segment 2 & 3: Conversation with Dr. Diana Marar
Dr. Diana Marar, an internal medicine physician practicing at West Broadway Clinic in Council Bluffs and a member of St. Patrick's Parish, joins Bishop Joensen and Jean Thill to share her story:

• Raised in a Melkite (Byzantine) Christian family in Jordan, Dr. Marar became Catholic after marrying her husband, also a physician.
• She and her husband came to the U.S. on a J-1 visa, serving an underserved community in Oakland, Iowa, before settling in Council Bluffs, where they've raised five children.
• Dr. Marar describes how she integrates faith into her medical practice, encouraging patients toward prayer and the sacraments alongside clinical care.
• She shares the story of how she overcame cultural hesitation about touching the Eucharist as a woman, describing a conversation with Bishop Joensen that helped affirm her call.
• After training with a fellow parishioner, Dr. Marar began a weekly ministry distributing Holy Communion to patients at Mercy Hospital and later Methodist Hospital in Council Bluffs.

This episode is sponsored by Serra Vocations Ministry of Council Bluffs and Des Moines, supporting vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Learn more at Serra Vocations Ministry.

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