As Édith Piaf’s “Non, je ne regrette rien” (“No, I regret nothing”) filled Ss Peter and Paul Church in Lower Hutt on a sunny summer afternoon on February 21, something remarkable was happening: the song was not being played on a sound system, but sung by the priests walking out and the hundreds of people in attendance.
The song came at the end of a memorial Mass for Br Douglas Dawick FMS, better known as Br Doug, who was reunited with God on January 12 (with his funeral held in Auckland on January 16). Br Doug loved the song.
A Marist, Br Doug moved up to Auckland at the end of 2025. Br Doug spent around 25 years in Lower Hutt in the service of God in the Archdiocese of Wellington. His ministry was predominantly amongst the youth, specifically within the Te Awakairangi Parish, of which Ss Peter and Paul is a part.
The church was filled with people whose lives Br Doug had touched, including youth who had lived at The Grove in Lower Hutt. The Grove was a home where young people lived with the Marist Brothers to discover the joys of living together in Catholic community.
A farewell for the Marist Brothers took place in late July at Ss Peter and Paul. Presided over by Archbishop Paul and Cardinal John, the event was a chance to say goodbye as the last Marist Brothers moved to Auckland after 149 years of continuous service in the Wellington region.
In 1850, eight Marist Brothers accompanied Bishop Philippe Viard from Auckland to Wellington. Most Brothers later travelled further on with Marist priests to parishes in places such as Napier and Nelon. More Brothers came in 1876, and were a constant presence in the Wellington region, particularly involved with helping run Catholic schools.
Br Doug was among the last two.
