CHURCH BUILDING
Chapel of the Milk Grotto
Bethlehem · Roman Catholic · Custody of the Holy Land
A brief history
A short walk from the Church of the Nativity, this Catholic chapel was erected in 1872 over a soft white rock grotto that has drawn pilgrims since Byzantine times. It is maintained, with its Marian shrine and monastery, by the Custody of the Holy Land. The devotional name comes from a tradition about the Holy Family sheltering here; that account is tradition, not a biblical episode.
An interesting detail
The grotto's chalk-white rock, unusual among Bethlehem's honey-coloured limestone, is what gave the sanctuary its popular name.