For the first time ever, a pope addressed the world via video during one of the most watched sporting events of the year and encouraged people to use sports as a way to build a culture of encounter and peace.

CNA/EWTN News is reporting on the video which was played before the game on the screen at NRG Stadium in Houston.

“Great sporting events like today’s Super Bowl are highly symbolic, showing that it is possible to build a culture of encounter and a world of peace,” the Pope said in his native Spanish.

“By participating in sports, we are able to go beyond our own self-interest and – in a healthy way – we learn to sacrifice, to grow in fidelity and respect the rules,” he said.

“May this year’s Super Bowl be a sign of peace, friendship and solidarity to the world.”

The pope, who is an avid soccer fan, has often spoken of sports as a place to learn virtue and practice fraternity.

According to CNA, he played soccer as a child but admitted in a 2015 interview that he was a “patadura” – meaning he wasn’t good at kicking the ball – and preferred to play basketball instead.

If yesterday’s audience is anything like last year’s, the pope’s message had an audience of over 100 million people.

In a time of so much political and social upheaval in our own country and around the world, his message of peace could not have come at a better time.