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

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

Giménez's restoration effort spread across the internet and was dubbed "Monkey Christ", because the altered likeness of Christ's head bearing a resemblance to a hairy monkey.

Official Confirmation and Tribute

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

"Rest in peace Cecilia, we will always remember you," Arilla wrote.

Arilla further referenced Giménez's "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in the summer of 2012, which "because of the poor state of conservation it presented, Cecilia, with the best intentions, chose to apply new paint over the original".

The Painting's History and the Fateful Intervention

The Ecce Homo ("This is the Man" in Latin) painted by nineteenth-century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for over a century in the Santuario de la Misericordia close to 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 anyone who came into the Church would have seen she was painting over the existing image.

An Unexpected Tourist Boom

The aftermath of the restoration spawned the "Ecce Mono" meme and saw the previously sleepy town of Borja rapidly turn into a major visitor attraction.

The town, which had previously seen only five thousand visitors per year, attracted over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise 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 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 later hold an exhibition of her paintings featuring 28 of her personal works.

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

Ultimately, what began as a well-intentioned but unsuccessful art repair created an improbable cultural icon and provided remarkable attention and resources to a humble Spanish town.