Do Catholics pray to Mary or the saints?

from the old testament

• The Bible teaches that worship and prayer belong to God alone, forbidding the worship of anyone or anything else (Exodus 20:3–5).
• The first commandment emphasizes that only God deserves our devotion, and we must not turn to other gods (Deuteronomy 5:7–9).
• The Israelites were explicitly commanded not to follow or consult idols or false gods (Leviticus 19:4).
• Idols are powerless, merely "the work of man's hands" and cannot respond to prayer, which underscores that only God hears and answers prayers (Psalm 115:4–8).

from the new testament

• While Mary was “highly favored” (Luke 1:28) and deserves our respect as a faithful servant of God, she was also a sinner in need of a Savior, as she confesses in Luke 1:47: “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
• The Apostle Paul reminds us that there is only “one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). This verse makes clear that no saint nor holy person, no matter how righteous, replaces Christ as an intercessor.
• Jesus alone bridges the gap between sinful humanity and the holy God. Revelation 19:10 and 22:8–9, demonstrates this truth when an angel refuses John's worship and directs him to worship God.
• The apostle Peter refused Cornelius' attempt to worship him (Acts 10:25-26). This incident and others like it in Scripture show that no human being is worthy of worship. We should never accept worship nor give it to anyone other than God.
• In his letter to Timothy, Paul makes it clear that "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5; emphasis added). Approaching Mary or the saints for intercession is unbiblical.
• Believers are granted direct access to God’s throne of grace through Jesus, so prayer should be offered to God alone (Hebrews 4:14-16, 10:19–20; John 14:13–14, 16:23–24).

implications for today

Many a love song speaks of worshiping the beloved. Metaphors aside, only God is worthy of worship, and it's a serious antibiblical practice to worship anyone or anything besides Him. Roman Catholics, however, direct prayers to Mary and the saints, even though they claim that they are merely asking these figures to pray with them. Despite that claim, the Catechism of the Catholic Church plainly teaches, “We can pray with and to her” (part 4, section 1, chapter 2, article 2, paragraph 2679). This indicates that prayers are, in fact, addressed to Mary and other saints.

Many everyday Catholics pray to Mary or the saints without realizing that their actions are offensive to God. Believers should look for opportunities to speak with our Catholic friends and acquaintances about this. Questions can be a good way to broach the subject—e.g., asking about their practice to find out more and then asking, "Would you mind if I shared a few passages in the Bible that address how and whom to pray to?" You can show them that every instance of prayer, whether in the Psalms, the Gospels, or the Epistles, is always directed to God. Suppose they don't accept it? So be it. Our role as believers is to share the truth; God alone changes hearts.