Photo of offerings from visitors of the shrine.
Near the shrine, there’s a chapel dedicated to martyrs who fought against the Mexican government in the late 1920s when they closed all the Catholic churches, and there also sits the story Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos. Visitors of the church bring her offerings in exchange for miracles. Credit: Molly McElwain / Tulsa Flyer

As the year draws to a close, we wanted to bring a few highlights back into your news digest. Take this as our way of saying thank you for reading along with us — and supporting our newsroom as we look toward 2026. Welcome to Tulsa Flyer’s Holiday Replay. 

A statue donated to east Tulsa’s St. Thomas More Catholic Church during the pandemic has turned into a beacon of hope and faith for dozens of devotees. 

Despite the hurdles along the way, church leaders say the newly opened shrine dedicated to Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos was well worth the effort. Read more about the meaning behind the statue and how it found its final destination in Tulsa from Eastside/La Semana reporter Angelica Perez. 

News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

Angelica Perez is the Eastside and La Semana reporter, where she focuses on Tulsa’s Latino communities in partnership with the bilingual newspaper La Semana del Sur. Angelica is featured weekly on Que...