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

Cecilia Giménez, from the town of Borja in northeast Spain, rose to prominence thirteen years ago after she attempted to restore a 100-year-old painting titled Ecce Homo housed within her parish church.

Giménez's handiwork spread across the internet and earned the moniker "Monkey Christ", largely due to the resulting likeness of Christ's head looking somewhat like a furry primate.

Local Announcement and Tribute

The 94-year-old's passing was confirmed by the town's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, via an online statement, where he acknowledged her as a "passionate enthusiast of painting from a young age".

"Descansa en paz Cecilia, we will always remember you," Arilla wrote.

Arilla further referenced Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "due to the deteriorated condition it presented, Cecilia, acting in good faith, decided to repaint the work over".

The Artwork's History and the Fateful Intervention

The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) painted by 19th century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for more than a hundred years in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza.

In 2012, Giménez, who was 81 years old, explained that parishioners had "always repaired everything here", and that she had been given the go-ahead from the local priest to proceed.

She added at the time that anybody who entered the church would have observed she was applying paint to the existing artwork.

A Surprising Tourist Boom

The impact of the restoration spawned the "Monkey Christ" internet phenomenon and saw the previously sleepy town of Borja quickly become a significant visitor attraction.

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

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

Legacy and Community Admiration

After recovering from the wave of criticism, backed by local residents and well-wishers globally, Giménez went on to stage an art exhibition featuring 28 of her own paintings.

She was praised by Borja's mayor for her kind-hearted nature and decades of dedication to the parish.

Ultimately, what began as a sincere but flawed act of restoration forged an improbable cultural icon and brought remarkable tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.