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The Spanish parishioner who made international headlines for her infamous repair job on a cherished religious painting has died at the age 94.

Cecilia Giménez, a resident of the town of Borja in northern Spain, rose to prominence 13 years ago after she attempted to restore a century-old fresco known as Ecce Homo housed within her parish church.

Giménez's restoration effort spread across the internet and earned the moniker "Potato Jesus", because the resulting depiction of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a hairy monkey.

Official Announcement and Homage

The nonagenarian's passing was announced by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he described her as a "great enthusiast of painting from a young age".

"Rest in peace Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," Arilla wrote.

Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "because of the poor state of conservation it was in, Cecilia, acting in good faith, chose to repaint the work over".

The Artwork's Background and the Fateful Intervention

The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) painted by 19th century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had resided for over a hundred years in the Santuario de la Misericordia near Zaragoza.

At the time, Giménez, who was 81 years old, explained that church members had "always repaired everything here", and that she had been given the go-ahead from the parish priest to proceed.

She also noted that anybody who entered the church would have seen she was applying paint to the original image.

An Unexpected Tourist Boom

The aftermath of the repaint job spawned the "Ecce Mono" meme and saw the once quiet town of Borja rapidly turn into a significant visitor attraction.

The town, which had previously welcomed just 5,000 tourists per year, received more than 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated more than €50,000 for charity from the interest.

Today, local authorities say that somewhere around 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja each year to see the famous portrait, which is now protected by a protective shield of glass.

Later Life and Local Support

After recovering from the initial backlash, with support from local residents and others around the world, Giménez went on to hold an exhibition of her paintings showcasing twenty-eight of her personal works.

She was praised by the mayor for her generosity and decades of dedication to the church.

Ultimately, what began as a well-intentioned but flawed art repair forged an improbable piece of pop culture and provided remarkable tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.