[2] Fox took his inspiration from Pope John Paul II's November 22, 1981 encyclical Familiaris Consortio (On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World).
[5] The shrine in Alexandria was dedicated during the 1987 Marian Year by Alberto Cosme do Amaral, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leiria-Fátima, and is maintained largely through freewill donations.
A lay person author and writer and convert to the Catholic Church, John C. Preiss, became President of the Fatima Family Apostolate and Editor of the quarterly magazine the Immaculate Heart Messenger.
It is an international Apostolate, having members all over the world and publishes a quarterly magazine called the Immaculate Heart Messenger.
The President of the FFA serves as the editor of the Immaculate Heart Messenger- [10] The FFA has six major segments in which members may participate according to their needs and circumstances: Married Marian Couples, Youth For Fatima, Fatima Prayer Groups, and Suffering Members for the Conversion of One's Country - for disabled people.
[11] There are FFA groups in Australia and the Philippines where its magazine, the Immaculate Heart Messenger is printed for places in Asia.
The magazine promotes conservative Catholic teachings with regard to sexuality and marriage, opposing birth control, divorce, abortion, and what it considers to be indecent literature and film.
The Immaculate Heart Messenger is designed to teach people about the Catholic faith, to pray and read Scripture.
Each issue of Immaculate Heart Messenger contains news briefs, subscriber forum, questions and answers, various articles explaining various aspects of the Catholic faith such as prayer, catechism, the Sacraments, Lent, Advent, Scripture, stories about the lives of the saints or personal witnesses.