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The Spanish parishioner who made international headlines for her infamous restoration attempt on a valuable religious painting has passed away at the age 94.

Cecilia Giménez, from the town of Borja in northeast Spain, rose to prominence 13 years ago after she undertook to restore a 100-year-old fresco titled Ecce Homo located in her parish church.

Giménez's handiwork spread across the internet and earned the moniker "Monkey Christ", largely due to the altered likeness of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a hairy monkey.

Local Announcement and Tribute

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

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

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

The Painting's Background and the Fateful Intervention

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

At the time, Giménez, then 81, explained that church members had "traditionally fixed 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 observed she was applying paint to the existing artwork.

A Surprising Tourist Boom

The impact of the repaint job spawned the "Ecce Mono" meme and transformed the once quiet town of Borja quickly become a significant tourist destination.

The municipality, which had in the past welcomed just five thousand visitors per year, received over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated over €50,000 for charity from the interest.

Today, local authorities estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja every year to view the notorious painting, which is now displayed behind a protective shield of glass.

Later Life and Community Admiration

After recovering from the initial backlash, backed by the townspeople and others globally, Giménez went on to stage an exhibition of her paintings showcasing 28 of her personal paintings.

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

In the end, what began as a sincere but flawed art repair created an improbable cultural icon and provided remarkable tourist revenue to a humble Spanish town.