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Why Our Lady Appeared At Fatima On Aug. 19th, Not Aug. 13th On August 13, 1917, Artur de Oliveira Santos (the anti-Catholic administrator of the district) seized the Fatima children (Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta) under false pretenses. He said that he wanted to escort them to the Cova da Iria for the apparition of Our Lady. But he actually kidnapped them and took them to Ourém, where they were held. They were first detained in his house and then in a jail cell. He repeatedly asked them about the “secret” they said Our Lady had mentioned, and he threatened to boil them in oil if they did not reveal it to him. The children refused to reveal the secret. Since the children had been kidnapped and did not make it to the apparition site, Our Lady did not appear to them on that day. They were released on approximately August 15 (the Feast of the Assumption). Our Lady then unexpectedly appeared to the children on August 19. During the apparition she told them: “If you had not been taken away [by the Administrator on Aug. 13] to the City, the miracle [of Oct. 13th] would have been greater”. She also said: “Pray, pray a great deal, and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to pray and make sacrifices for them.” (William Thomas Walsh, Our Lady of Fatima, p. 120) https://vaticancatholic.com/why-our-lady-appeared-on-aug-19th-not-aug-13th/