The new church built over the ancient chapel of the Milk Grotto in Bethlehem, a cave sanctuary much venerated by the Christians of Bethlehem, was inaugurated on 31 December, in the presence of 600 Slovak pilgrims and many Italian pilgrims. According to an ancient tradition, drops of milk that fell from the Virgin’s breast as she was breast-feeding the Infant Jesus in the cave where the Holy Family had taken refuge during the Slaughter of the Innocents changed the reddish-brown rock of the cave to white. Powder made from the rock dissolved in water was drunk by mothers whose milk had dried up and by women who asked for the blessing of childbirth through the Virgin’s intercession. The idea of the new chapel, as a way of responding to the desire of countless groups of pilgrims who visited Bethlehem during the Great Jubilee of 2000, is that of Fra Lorenzo Bode, for years custodian of the sanctuary, encouraged by Father Jan Majernik, pilgrims’ guide. The idea was warmly supported by the bishops of Slovakia who spared no effort to ensure its realization. The chapel was built by stonemasons and craftsmen in Bethlehem, thus giving material aid to the economy of a town suffering from an unprecedented crisis. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has in fact meant that the tourists and pilgrims who formerly flocked here in large numbers no longer come. The chapel covers an area of 300 sq m. All its liturgical furnishings were produced by carpenters in Bethlehem thanks to the funding provided by Christians in Slovakia. The new church, inaugurated at a time of great military tension, is “another sign of a possible peace in which the population of Bethlehem has a right at least to hope after too many years of tension”.
