 Efforts were made by Cardinal Richelieu to assist Bishop Henri de Bethune to undertake reconstruction, but King Louis XIII decided that the headquarters of the diocese should be moved to Fontenay-le-Comte.On 26 September 1629 he issued a brevet, authorizing the transfer of the episcopal seat from Maillezais to Fontenay-le-Comte, as well as the secularizing of the Chapter of Maillezais, and permitting the request to be made formally to the Papacy.On 14 January 1631 Pope Urban VIII, with a view to a more active struggle against Protestantism, issued bulls which would have transferred the residence of the Bishop of Maillezais to Fontenay-le-Comte.