Milk Grotto Chapel

A short walk from the Church of the Nativity, the Milk Grotto Chapel is a Catholic shrine maintained by the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. The cave and its white limestone walls have been a pilgrimage destination since the Byzantine period — Christian tradition holds that the Holy Family sheltered here before fleeing to Egypt.

The current chapel was built in 1872 on the site of a Byzantine church, fragments of whose mosaic floor are still visible. The atmosphere is quieter and less crowded than the Church of the Nativity. The sisters of a contemplative monastery attached to the chapel have maintained continuous prayer for peace here since 2016.

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A story
The cave's white stone gave rise to a legend that a drop of milk from the Virgin Mary spilled here during the flight to Egypt, turning the limestone white. Pilgrims have taken away small amounts of the white powder scraped from the rock walls for centuries, believing it aids fertility. The cave has been a place of pilgrimage since at least Byzantine times, and a new 5th-century church floor was built on top of an even earlier one.