The original chapel, made of straw, soon became too small. From 1885, several chapels were built one after another: the last, with its three small huts, was blessed in 1928 by Bishop Eugene Maria Giuseppe Allys (Ly, in Vietnamese), who was then Vicar Apostolic of Hue.
During the period 1886-1928, the locality of La Vang was dependent on the parish of Co-Vuu, in the Province of Quang Tri. In 1928, in order to respond to the needs of the growing number of pilgrims, Bishop Allys erected La Vang as an independent parish.
On 13 April 1961, the Bishops of South Viet Nam assembled in Hue, made a vow to the Immaculate Heart of Mary to consecrate a church to the Blessed Virgin when circumstances permitted, asking Our Lady for freedom for the Church and peace for both parts of Viet Nam. In their joint Letter of 8 August of the same year, La Vang was recognized as a national Marian Centre. On the 22nd of the same month, its church was raised to the dignity of a Minor Basilica by Pope John XXIII.
From 1961 the shrine was enlarged and embellished: Holy Rosary Square, 30 x 480 metres, with 15 statues representing the mysteries of the Rosary; two small lakes in six hectares of land; an altar made of precious stones from Non Nuoc, in the Province of Da Nang; a statue of the Blessed Virgin; retreat houses, completed in 1963; the House of the Pilgrim, a fountain, etc....
All these various buildings of La Vang were totally destroyed in 1972, during the war between the North and the South.
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