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

Cecilia Giménez, a resident of the town of Borja in northeast Spain, became a global sensation 13 years ago after she undertook to repaint a 100-year-old painting known as Ecce Homo housed within her local church.

Giménez's restoration effort spread across the internet and was dubbed "Potato Jesus", largely due to the resulting likeness of Christ's head looking somewhat like a hairy monkey.

Official Announcement and Homage

The nonagenarian's death was announced by Borja's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, via an online statement, where he acknowledged her as a "great lover of painting from a very early age".

"Rest in peace 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 poor state of conservation it presented, Cecilia, acting in good faith, decided to apply new paint over the original".

The Artwork's History and the Now-Infamous Intervention

The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) painted by nineteenth-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, stated that church members had "always repaired everything here", and that she had been given the go-ahead from the parish priest to do the work.

She added at the time that anyone who came into the church would have seen she was painting over the original image.

A Surprising Economic Lifeline

The impact of the repaint job spawned the "Monkey Christ" meme and saw the once quiet town of Borja rapidly turn into a major visitor attraction.

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

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

Later Life and Community Support

After recovering from the initial backlash, with support from local residents and others globally, Giménez later hold an art exhibition showcasing twenty-eight of her personal paintings.

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

In the end, what began as a sincere but flawed act of restoration created an improbable cultural icon and brought unprecedented tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.