intercessio
Intercession
Praying on behalf of another. Asking the saints to intercede is asking them to pray for us, as one would ask a friend, not praying to them instead of God.
a going between
To intercede is to plead for someone else. Christ is the one Mediator, and his intercession at the Father's right hand is the source of all others; Christians share in it whenever they pray for one another, as St Paul constantly asks his readers to do. Asking Mary or the saints to pray for us is the same act extended across death: because they are alive in Christ and closer to him than we are, the Catechism says, their intercession is their highest service to God's plan. The response “pray for us” in every litany is a request for intercession.
Councils
Where the Church settled or debated this. Follow a council to read our article on it, or the decrees themselves.
- 1545–1563Council of Trentthe decrees
- 1962–1965Second Vatican Councilthe decrees
Sources checked 29 September 2026