Catholics do not worship statues but honor saints with statues as they honor national heroes. Statues remind Catholics of the saints' example and that they are part of a larger family in heaven and on earth. While Catholics pray directly to God through Christ, they also ask saints in heaven to pray for them, as the saints' prayers are offered to God and they desire all people to be saved. Statues and images of saints serve as reminders of their examples of faith and reassurance that the church community extends beyond the living.

1. Questions Catholics are Asked:
Why do you pray to idols (statues)?

2. The short answer:
“Catholics do not worship statues.
We honor the saints with statues,
just as we honor our national heroes.”

3. “…We honor the saints with images of them,
just as we honor our own families with portrait photos.

4. For Catholics, salvation is not an isolated, individual
experience. We belong to one another on earth.
Death is simply a reminder that we are journeying
toward a wonderful reunion in heaven!
“You have approached Mount Zion
and the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem,
and countless angels in festal gathering,
–and the assembly of the firstborn
enrolled in heaven…”
Hebrews 12:22-23

5. “Firstborn” refers to an older brother.
Just as an older brother protects
and guides his younger siblings,
so the saints help us in our journey of faith.
Therefore, since we are
surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin
that clings to us and persevere in
running the race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,
the leader and perfecter of faith.
Hebrews 12:1

6. The Catholic tradition of the
veneration of the saints is grounded in
our vision of church as a family.
The church has many millions of members,
and the vast majority are dead!
Many of our deceased brothers and sisters
lived heroic lives of faith.
From heaven they inspire us still:
By the example of their lives
In their prayers for us
In statues and other images that remind us of them

7. By the example of their lives
Saint Peter
Claver, for
example,
dedicated
his life to
ministering
to African
slaves in
the New
World.

8. In their prayers for us
“I urge that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and thanksgivings
be made for all men,
for kings and all who are in high positions,
that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly
and respectful in every way.
This is good, and pleasing to God our Savior, who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth"
1 Tim. 2:1–4

9. Our older brothers and sisters,
the saints, pray for us.
In the Book of Revelation angels and saints
offer prayers to God:
“The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell
down before the Lamb. Each of the elders held a harp
and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the
prayers of the holy ones.” Rev 5:8
Those in heaven have no needs.
Whose could the prayers be for except
the believers still on earth?

10. In statues
and
other
images
that
remind
us of
them

11. Why not pray directly to God
through Christ?
Of course we should pray directly to God through Christ!
But the reconciling love of Christ be given
also to the church. In Christ we all participate
in the mediating power of prayer.
Asking the saints to pray for us does not diminish
Christ’s unique role any more than
our asking each another for prayers.
This is simply what Christians do.

12. “Do not weep,
for I shall be more useful to you
after my death
and I shall help you then more effectively
than during my life.”
Saint Dominic
“I want to spend my heaven
in doing good on earth.”
Saint Therese of Lisieux