Bethlehem’s ‘Milk Grotto’: A pilgrimage site of hope for families seeking miracles

Bethlehem, Dec 15, 2024 / 06:00 am

Just a short walk from the Grotto of the Nativity in the Holy Land is the only white-stone grotto in the entire area of Bethlehem. Commonly known as the “Milk Grotto,” its color and name are tied to a legend going back to the sixth century.

According to the story, the Holy Family found refuge in the grotto during the “slaughter of the innocents” recounted in the second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. While there, an angel appeared to Joseph and told him to flee to Egypt. The legend recounts that the Virgin Mary was nursing the Baby Jesus at that moment and when, in haste to depart, she took him off her breast, a drop of milk fell to the ground, turning the stone completely white.

The entrance to the sanctuary of the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem. Since 1872, a sanctuary belonging to the Custody of the Holy Land has stood above the grotto (most recently renovated in 2006), but as early as the 12th century, records mention the existence of a “Church of Rest” and the “Milk Grotto.” Credit: Marinella Bandini

Since 1872, a sanctuary belonging to the Custody of the Holy Land has stood above the grotto (most recently renovated in 2006), but as early as the 12th century, records mention the existence of a “Church of Rest” and the “Milk Grotto.”

Since the sixth century, relics from the Milk Grotto have been known in Europe and the East. These consist of powdered rock from the grotto, considered miraculous, distributed in small pouches — a practice that continues to this day. In 1250, Perdicca of Ephesus wrote that this powder helps mothers produce milk when they have none.

For this reason, the grotto has long been a favored pilgrimage site for women and families seeking the blessing of a child or facing challenges with pregnancy and nursing. Not only Christian women but also many Muslim women, who regard Mary as a model of feminine virtue, make pilgrimages here.

The depiction of Our Lady of the Milk inside the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem. “Just a drop was enough to change the color of the rock, and this drop continues to change people’s lives,” said Father Luis Enrique Segovia, guardian of the Franciscan convent in Bethlehem and, for eight years, among the friars serving at the Milk Grotto. “Many people come here, even from afar, seeking a miracle, and in an instant, everything changes.” Credit: Marinella Bandini

Little miracles of the grotto

“Just a drop was enough to change the color of the rock, and this drop continues to change people’s lives,” said Father Luis Enrique Segovia, guardian of the Franciscan convent in Bethlehem who, for the past eight years, has also served among the friars at the Milk Grotto. 

“Many people come here, even from afar, seeking a miracle, and in an instant, everything changes,” he said.

A woman prays before the image of Our Lady in the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem. Not only Christian women but also many Muslim women regard Mary as a model of feminine virtue and make pilgrimages here. Credit: Photo courtesy of Custodia di Terra Santa

Reaching the sanctuary of the Milk Grotto “is coming to a place of hope, a place of life,” Segovia said. “People come to ask for the gift of motherhood and fatherhood, the gift of life. It’s not just about [consuming] the powder. Here, the Virgin Mary can generate life; she can transform the lives of women and families.”

Thousands of letters have arrived at the sanctuary, testifying to graces received. These testimonies now completely cover the walls of the friars’ small office. The letters are often accompanied by photos of children whose births are attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of the Milk Grotto. 

“Some return on pilgrimage and bring the child,” Segovia explained. “A few years ago, we even celebrated a baptism.”

Father Luis Enrique Segovia points to some letters hanging on the wall of the friars' office, adjacent to the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem, which testify to the birth of a child attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of the Milk Grotto. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Among the pilgrims in the summer of 2019 were Federica Crippa and her husband, Giacomo, a young couple suffering the loss of two children due to miscarriage in the early months of pregnancy. “We had so many questions,” Federica told CNA. “Why had God given us two children who didn’t even have the chance to be born?”

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Federica Crippa with her husband, Giacomo, and their two children during a mountain vacation. The birth of the couple's eldest son, who came after two miscarriages, is attributed by them in part to the intercession of Our Lady of the Milk Grotto. Credit: Photo courtesy of Federica Crippa

When they arrived in Bethlehem, Federica was pregnant for the third time. “When I noticed some spotting, I panicked,” she recounted. “The friend hosting us suggested we visit the Milk Grotto.”

The couple prayed for their baby’s life. “Our lives are deeply shaped by faith,” Federica said. “The Milk Grotto was the right place at that moment.”

Upon returning to Italy, Federica’s gynecologist prescribed complete bed rest, confirming a partial placental abruption that had, however, stabilized. The couple continued to entrust themselves to Our Lady of the Milk Grotto and in February 2020 their son Giovanni was born. Two years later, he was joined by a little brother. 

“We like to think that Giovanni’s birth is connected to the Milk Grotto. If we hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have happened,” Federica reflected.

The interior of the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem. In the background, the most well-known depiction of Our Lady of the Milk. According to a Christian tradition dating back to the sixth century, the Virgin Mary was nursing the baby Jesus here and when, in haste to flee to Egypt, she took him off her breast, a drop of milk fell to the ground, turning the stone completely white. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Prayers answered

Among the devotees of the Milk Grotto is another friar of the Custody of the Holy Land, Father Giuseppe Gaffurini. His devotion began many years before he arrived in the Holy Land. 

“I was living in Rome and had an image of a sculpture depicting the flight into Egypt, with a prayer behind it,” he told CNA. “I used it when people asked me to pray for the gift of children. When I came to the Holy Land for a [month’s] sabbatical, a nun directed me to the Milk Grotto. What a surprise when I saw that sculpture there.”

A cross inside the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem marks the spot where an angel appeared to Joseph and told him to flee to Egypt (cf. Mt 2:13-14). Credit: Marinella Bandini

Since then, Gaffurini has been directing all couples who ask him to pray for children to the Milk Grotto. And he never returns to Italy without bringing back some pouches of the grotto’s powder.

“All the gifts God gave to Mary, she shares with us. This is the theological reason why this devotion can be considered legitimate and not magic or superstition,” he emphasized. “We turn to Mary and say: ‘You there enjoyed the joys of motherhood, share this joy with us.’ This is part of the Christian faith.”

Gaffurini has witnessed little miracles connected to the grotto within his own family. He told CNA that his nephew and his nephew’s partner greatly desired a child, but none was coming so at a family lunch, the friar gave them a pouch with the Milk Grotto’s powder.

Father Giuseppe Gaffurini, a Franciscan friar of the Custody of the Holy Land, is a devotee of Our Lady of the Milk Grotto and a witness to many graces. “All the gifts God gave to Mary, she shares with us. This is the theological reason why this devotion can be considered legitimate and not magic or superstition,” he told CNA. Credit: Marinella Bandini

Francesca Carleschi, the partner of Gaffurini’s nephew, shared the rest of the story with CNA. 

“It was Dec. 8, 2022. In January, I would have had an appointment for medically assisted procreation. Father Giuseppe told me the story of the Milk Grotto and gave me the powder. I come from a Christian family, and I thought it could be an extra help,” Carleschi explained. 

Every day, she drank a glass of water with a pinch of the powder and recited the prayer given to her to go with it. 

“At the end of January, I canceled my appointment for medically assisted procreation because I was pregnant.” Nine months later, Giulio was born.

When she tells the story, she can hardly believe it, yet it really happened to her.

“Surely, many factors played in our favor, but having this possibility [of the powder], this help from above, calmed me. It gave me a confidence that I perhaps hadn’t had before in the possibility that our desire could come true,” she said.

This past Oct. 11, Carleschi and her partner asked Gaffurini to baptize their child, and on that occasion, they also got married.

Francesca Carleschi with her husband, Andrea, and their son, Giulio, in a photo taken on the day of Giulio's baptism and their wedding on Oct. 11, 2024. Credit: Photo courtesy of Francesca Carleschi

“We thought we needed to give something back for what had been given to us, or rather, add one more piece — for our son, but also for us as a couple: to marry, and do it in church, to ask the help of someone greater even in this step.”

“Children are gifts from God, all of them. The fact that, in some cases, this gift is accompanied by difficulty reminds us that all children are gifts from God,” Gaffurini said.