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St. Isidore R.C. Church reopens after summer-long renovation

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Just in time for the Polish Town Festival, St. Isidore R.C. Church in Riverhead reopened its doors this past weekend, holding its first Mass after a substantial summer renovation.

When parishioners arrived for the Saturday morning Mass that kicks off the annual festival, the historic church had a new look. The pews have been removed and refurbished, the interior has been repainted and new flooring and carpeting have been installed. The final touches, carpets in the confessionals, were finished the previous day.

“Welcome back to our beautiful church!” the Rev. Piotr Narkiewicz said.

Lisa Dabrowski of Cutchogue, a Riverhead native, was present Saturday and agreed that “the church looked beautiful.”

Earlier in the year, a month-long project was launched to restore oil paintings and frescos inside St. Isidore. The artwork was restored and repainted by Russian artists Irina Macheeva and Sergey Lukyanov of Artisan Restoration Co. in New York City. In February, when their work was completed, the church announced a fundraising campaign for the next phase of renovations, which required it to close.

During those renovations, which began in June, the church moved to temporary quarters at Bishop McGann-Mercy High School.

Six years ago, the church’s exterior aluminum siding was replaced with cedar shakes.

Photo caption: A look inside the refurbished St. Isidore R.C. Church last Friday before it officially reopened its doors. (Credit: Joe Werkmeister)

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