Bishop in the Oratory

Don Bosco was privileged to help and comfort Bishop Peter Rota of Guastalla, one of the first victims of that ignoble persecution. Forced to leave his see, he chose Turin as his place of temporary confinement and arrived there on the evening of May 14 [1866], not knowing where to spend the night. He first called on the Vincentian Fathers who welcomed him most warmly. Finding, however, that two other bishops, also banished from their sees, were there and no more rooms were available, he went to the Cottolengo Institute. There he learned that, since this institution was officially recognized by the government as a charitable organization, there could be reprisals against it. Moreover, the institution did not have fit quarters for a bishop. He therefore was advised to call on Don Bosco who would willingly host him. Bishops were no strangers at the Oratory. Don Bosco welcomed them with singular veneration. Their presence was a family feast for him and his boys. "My dear Don Bosco," the illustrious exile told Don Bosco, "You care for the poor and abandoned. Who, now, is more abandoned than I? Take me in as one of your orphans. I shall be grateful if you shelter me as one of them." During his sixmonth stay, Bishop Rota edified all at the Oratory and readily obliged when asked to hear confessions. What particularly impressed the boys, however, was seeing him kneeling with them on the bare floor around Don Bosco's confessional every week, waiting for his turn. When that respected shepherd—all the more revered because of his patient suffering under persecution—first walked into the sacristy for his confession, all stood up respectfully to let him go ahead, but he withdrew instead to a corner and knelt until his turn came. BM Vol. 8, ch. 30, p.172-173

Keep in mind that Don Bosco was a man of his times. Together with this, he adjusted to the maledictions of the Church and even the state. The exile of the local ordinaries from their sees didn't stop Don Bosco for showing his love for the Church. And in turn, God gave Don Bosco’s boys a perfect example of humility. Take this as an example that even though you already hold important positions in the hierarchy, humility still holds top priority to show the meekness of Christ.

Article 13: Sense of the Church “...We feel ourselves a living part of [the Church], and we cultivate in ourselves and in our communities a renewed ecclesial awareness. This we express in an attitude of filial loyalty to Peter’s successor and to his teaching, and in our efforts to live in communion and collaboration with the bishops, clergy, religious and laity...”