Chapel of the Milk Grotto

Coordinates: 31°42′12.4″N 35°12′31.6″E / 31.703444°N 35.208778°E / 31.703444; 35.208778
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Chapel of the Milk Grotto of Our Lady
Grotto of Our Lady; Milk Grotto
Order of the Friars Minor

The Chapel of the Milk Grotto of Our Lady (

Status Quo, a 250-year-old understanding between religious communities, applies to the site.[5][6]

History

The current Catholic chapel was built in 1872 on the site of a former

Byzantine church from around the 5th century, of which only part of the mosaic floor remains.[citation needed
]

Significance

Christian tradition says is the place where the Holy Family found refuge during the Massacre of the Innocents, before they could flee to Egypt. The name is derived from the story that a "drop of milk" of the Virgin Mary fell on the floor of the cave and changed its colour to white.[7]

Internal view

The space, which contains three different caves, is visited by some in hope of healing infertile couples,[8] the shrine allegedly being a place where prayers for children are miraculously answered.[9]

Monastery of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

A monastery of the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is attached to the chapel. The red-and-white clad nuns practice perpetual Eucharistic adoration, and are also uninterruptedly praying for peace since 2016, when a 'Queen of Peace' tabernacle[10] was installed in their Eucharistic Adoration Chapel.[11][12]

The tabernacle was donated by the Polish community 'Queen of Peace'[13] to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.[11] It was originally designed for the Fourth Station of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, but was eventually moved to the Sisters of Perpetual Adoration at the Milk Grotto in 2016, because they were better prepared to ensure the continuous prayer for peace.[11]

The Polish artist who designed the tabernacle,

Christian professions emerging from the common trunk of Christianity.[11] At the centre of the open shrine stands the monstrance showing a Madonna holding in her hands the Eucharistic Christ, depicted as a large host.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "«La Gruta de la Leche en Belén» (Spanish)". Archived from the original on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
  2. ISBN 9781864502770
    .
  3. ISBN 9780814651568
    .
  4. ISBN 9781101186015
    .
  5. ^ United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine: Committee on Jerusalem: The Holy Places (Working paper). The United Nations. 8 April 1949 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  6. Cust, L. G. A. (1929). The Status Quo in the Holy Places . H.M.S.O. for the High Commissioner of the Government of Palestine – via Wikisource
    .
  7. ISBN 9781743609637
    .
  8. ^ "The Milk Grotto Church Heals Infertile Couples". 21 September 2003.
  9. ^ "Serving the needy among the communities of Bethlehem". Custodia Terra Sanctae. 8 January 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2018
  10. ^ Polish Wikipedia article on Mariusz Drapikowski's "Jerusalem Triptych"[circular reference]
  11. ^ a b c d e In the Milk Grotto, a shrine for peace, Christian Media Center – Custodia Terra Sanctae, 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2018
  12. ^ In the Milk Grotto, a shrine for peace, 14 March 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2018
  13. ^ Homepage of the Regina Pacis community
  14. ISBN 978-83-7380-648-1
    .
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