But the French returned to Macerata in 1817, to set up their headquarters aiming to use that location to attack the Austrian forces. The people turned to Bishop Strambi for fear of what the French would do. His response was to gather priests and seminarians in his private chapel to beg for God's intercession and after one and a half hours he rose and declared that Macerata would be saved through the intercession of the Mother of God. The French were indeed defeated though the local people feared what would happen during their retreat. Strambi met with the leader of the French forces and begged him not to enter the town to which General Murat agreed. Strambi then secured the assurances of the Austrian generals that the French soldiers would not be slaughtered.