Why Do Catholics Pray to Mary and the Saints?

Why do Catholics pray to Mary and the saints when Jesus Christ is the one Mediator between God and humanity?

Is this practice biblical—or does it contradict Scripture? Why Do Catholics Pray to Mary and the Saints? presents John Okparaeke’s comprehensive, reverent defense of Marian veneration and saintly intercession, drawing from Sacred Scripture, the covenant patterns of the Old and New Testaments, the Early Church Fathers, and the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Who it’s for: Catholics who want to understand and explain these teachings with clarity, confidence, and charity.

• Christ the One Mediator: Why asking the saints to pray for us does not diminish Christ’s unique mediation
• Mary in Scripture: The Queen Mother, the Ark of the New Covenant, and the Woman of Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 12
• Worship and Veneration: The essential distinction between worship, honor, and special Marian veneration
• The Communion of Saints: What Scripture reveals about the Church united across heaven and earth
• The Earliest Christians: How the Church Fathers understood Mary, the martyrs, sacred images, and saintly intercession

Move beyond confusion and defensiveness. Discover a biblical, historical, and deeply Christ-centered understanding of Mary and the saints.