According to longstanding Christian tradition, the Milk Grotto is the sacred site where the Virgin Mary is believed to have nursed the infant Jesus while hiding from the soldiers of King Herod who was seeking to kill the child. As the story goes, while Mary was nursing Jesus in the grotto, a few drops of her milk are said to have fallen onto the soft, white rock, forever imbuing it with a distinctive milky-white hue.
The Milk Grotto itself is an irregularly-shaped cave or small cavern that has been hollowed out of the soft, chalk-like white stone common to the region. Located just southeast of the imposing Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, this modest but revered holy site has been a site of pilgrimage for Christians and Muslims alike for centuries.
The Franciscan religious order, which has long maintained a presence in the Holy Land, constructed the current structure housing the Milk Grotto in the year 1872 AD. This modest chapel-like building protects and encloses the sacred grotto, allowing visitors to enter and experience the hallowed space where the Virgin Mary is believed to have nursed her divine child as they fled the wrath of King Herod.
Beyond its deep significance in the Christian tradition, the Milk Grotto is also renowned for its reputed healing properties, especially in regards to women's health and the facilitation of breastfeeding. The pure white, almost chalk-like rock of the grotto is ground into a fine powder and distributed as a sacred relic, with the belief that consuming small amounts of this "holy milk" can ease the difficulties of nursing and promote maternal health.