The Ecumenical Friends of Fátima Association (EFFA) was inaugurated and consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima on Tuesday, 15th May 2001 by the Right Reverend Edwin Barnes, Bishop of Richborough and first Episcopal President of The Association, in the presence of His Excellency Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva, Bishop of Leiria-Fátima.