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

The woman, a resident of the town of Borja in northeast Spain, became a global sensation 13 years ago after she undertook to restore a 100-year-old painting titled Ecce Homo housed within her parish church.

Giménez's restoration effort quickly went viral and was dubbed "Potato Jesus", because the altered depiction of Christ's head looking somewhat like a hairy monkey.

Local Announcement and Tribute

The nonagenarian's passing was announced by the town's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, 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 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, with the best intentions, decided to repaint the work over".

The Artwork's History and the Now-Infamous Act

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

At the time, Giménez, who was 81 years old, stated that church members had "traditionally fixed everything here", and that she had received permission from the local priest to proceed.

She also noted that anyone who came into the Church would have seen she was painting over the existing image.

An Unexpected Tourist Boom

The impact of the repaint job led to the creation of the "Ecce Mono" internet phenomenon and saw the once quiet town of Borja rapidly turn into a major tourist destination.

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

Today, local authorities estimate that somewhere around 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja each year to view the famous painting, which is now displayed behind a pane of glass.

Legacy and Local Admiration

After recovering from the wave of criticism, with support from the townspeople and others around the world, Giménez later stage an art exhibition featuring twenty-eight of her own paintings.

She was commended by Borja's mayor for her kind-hearted nature and years of faithful service to the parish.

In the end, what began as a well-intentioned but flawed act of restoration created an improbable piece of pop culture and provided remarkable tourist revenue to a small Spanish town.