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"Milk Grotto Chapel"

Bethlehem

Monday, ‎December ‎23, ‎2013

Third Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem

My Holy Land Trip

"Milk Grotto Chapel"
Bethlehem

The Milk Grotto (officially Magharet Sitti Mariam, "Grotto of the Lady Mary") is a serene grotto only a few minutes' walk from Manger Square in Bethlehem.

This grotto, with a Franciscan chapel built above it, is considered sacred because tradition has it that the Holy Family took refuge here during the Slaughter of the Innocent infants, before their flee to Egypt. Tradition has it that while Mary was nursing Jesus here in the cave, a drop of milk fell to the ground, turning the entire cave white. The irregularly shaped grotto is hollowed out of the soft white rock. 

A church was built here by the 5th century, and mosaic fragments on the terrace of the grotto, with geometrical motifs and crosses, are thought to belong to this time. Both Christians and Muslims believe scrapings from the stones in the grotto boost the quantity of a mother's milk and enhance fertility. Mothers usually mix it in their drinking water; would-be mothers place the rock under their mattress. There is also an old tradition that identifies this as the burial site of the young victims of Herod's Slaughter of the Innocents. (There is a chapel dedicated to them in the caves beneath the Church of St. Catherine.)

The way to Milk grotto Chapel, Bethlehem:

The Milk Grotto is located near the southeast corner of the Basilica of the Nativity, on a street of the same name. The grotto is converted into a chapel. It is irregular in shape and hollowed from a soft rock cave.

According to the bible and tradition, the Holy Family hid within the Milk Grotto before they escaped to Egypt. While the Virgin Mary nursed the baby Jesus there, drops of her milk fell on the ground within the cave and turning the rock white. Many believe that the rock is the source of miraculous power with regard to fertility. Couples who have difficulty conceiving, drink a bit of the rock's powder mixed with water and pray to the Virgin Mary. On the left of the chapel there is a room decorated with many photos of newborn babies and testimonial letters from parents attesting to the powers of the chalky sediment that was scratched from the cave walls.

Inside the Milk Grotto Chapel at Bethlehem:

On the steps descending to the underground chapel, are beautiful mother-of-pearl decorations engraved into the walls. Deeper inside the grotto, there is a unique painting of the Virgin Mary nursing a child. From as early as the 7th century, fragments from the cave were sent to churches in Europe. The site was recognized by a proclamation of Pope Gregory XI in 1375.

The grotto has been a site of veneration since the 4th century, the first structure being built over it around AD 385. Remains of the ancient mosaic floor are still visible. The present chapel was built by the Franciscans in 1872. 

The people of Bethlehem and local artisans expressed their love for the site by decorating the shrine with mother-of-pearl carvings. In 2007 a modern chapel dedicated to the Mother of God was opened. It is connected to the Milk Grotto church by a tunnel, which enabled the addition of a further chapel in the basement.

"And after the wise men departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying Arise, and take the child and his mother and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him." Matthew II 13-19. A legend recalls how Mary spilt some milk while breast feeding baby Jesus thus turning the stone of this caves a "white stone" color. The church was built on this site and contains the "white stone rock" The powdery substance of this rock is evident to this very day. In Bethlehem this church has for long centuries been a traditional devotional site; the church which known as "Magharet el Saiyidee" in Arabic meaning The Grotto of our Lady, can be found southeast of the Basilica of the Nativity, this church is frequently visited by local women, Christians and Moslems alike, to ask for the intercession of Mary Mother of Jesus. For an account of Mary and Joseph flight into Egypt read this document as excerpted from Otto Meinardus book entitled "Holy Family in Egypt". For further more information and the open hours of the church please visit The Palestinian Ministry of Tourism & Antiquities

The site is sacred to Christian and Muslim pilgrims alike and especially frequented by new mothers and women who are trying to conceive. By mixing the soft white chalk with their food, and praying to Our Lady of the Milk, they believe it will increase the quantity of their milk or enable them to become pregnant.

This church was built by St. Paula, who lived in Bethlehem and died there in 404 A.D., this church was naturally dedicated to the Virgin Mary, but at one time was called St. Paula (either by mistake by the builder or for one of the numerous other churches built in Bethlehem by St. Paula). In the 14th Century this church was known as the Church of St. Nicholas, as shown in a Papal Bull of Gregory XI in 1375, authorizing the Franciscans to rebuild it, which was not then done. The Franciscans first took possession of the church sometime after 1347 after they became caretakers of the Sanctuary of the Nativity. The soft white stones in this church were exported to many European churches under the name of The Virgin's Milk. It was one of these relics that Gerard III, Bishop of Bethlehem, took to the camp of King Baldwin III during the siege of Ascalon in 1153.

The present building around the Grotto was put up by the Franciscans in 1872, some of the old church mosaics and traces of original walls remain to this day. The church was extensively rebuilt, remodeled, and adorned with marble and hand cut sculptures, benches, icons, and engravings by Issa A. Michael Hazboun and sons in 1934-1935. Another tradition going back to the VII century is located at this site and is the burial place of the innocent children which were the victims killed by Herod the Great after Jesus' birth.

Rows of framed letters and baby pictures sent from around the world to the Milk Grotto testify to the effectiveness of the “milk powder” and prayer. (The powder is available only at the shrine; it may not be ordered from overseas)