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The Spanish parishioner who achieved global fame for her poorly executed repair job on a cherished religious painting has died at the age of 94.

Cecilia Giménez, from the town of Borja in northern Spain, rose to prominence 13 years ago after she undertook to repaint a century-old fresco titled Ecce Homo located in her local church.

Giménez's restoration effort quickly went viral and earned the moniker "Potato Jesus", because the altered depiction of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a hairy monkey.

Local Confirmation and Homage

The 94-year-old's passing was announced by the town's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he described her as a "passionate enthusiast of painting from a young age".

"Descansa en paz Cecilia, we will always remember you," the mayor posted.

Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "because of the deteriorated condition it was in, Cecilia, acting in good faith, chose to apply new paint over the original".

The Painting's History and the Now-Infamous Intervention

The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) by nineteenth-century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for over a hundred years in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza.

In 2012, Giménez, then 81, explained that parishioners had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had been given the go-ahead from the local priest to proceed.

She also noted that anyone who entered the Church would have observed she was applying paint to the original artwork.

An Unexpected Tourist Boom

The aftermath of the repaint job led to the creation of the "Monkey Christ" meme and saw the previously sleepy town of Borja rapidly turn into a major visitor attraction.

The municipality, which had in the past welcomed just 5,000 tourists per year, attracted over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise more than €50,000 for charity from the interest.

Today, local authorities estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja every year to see the famous portrait, which is now displayed behind a pane of glass.

Later Life and Community Admiration

Following the initial backlash, backed by the townspeople and others around the world, Giménez later stage an exhibition of her paintings showcasing 28 of her own paintings.

She was commended by Borja's mayor for her generosity and years of faithful service to the parish.

In the end, what began as a well-intentioned but flawed art repair created an unlikely piece of pop culture and provided remarkable attention and resources to a small Spanish town.