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

Cecilia Giménez, a resident of the town of Borja in northeast Spain, became a global sensation thirteen years ago after she attempted to repaint a century-old painting known as Ecce Homo housed within her parish church.

Giménez's restoration effort spread across the internet and earned the moniker "Potato Jesus", because the altered depiction of Christ's head looking somewhat like a furry primate.

Local Confirmation and Tribute

The 94-year-old's passing was announced by the town's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he acknowledged her as a "passionate 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 "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in the summer of 2012, which "because of the poor state of conservation it was in, Cecilia, acting in good faith, decided to apply new paint over the original".

The Painting's Background and the Now-Infamous Act

The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) painted by 19th century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had resided for more than a hundred years in the Santuario de la Misericordia near Zaragoza.

In 2012, Giménez, who was 81 years old, stated that parishioners 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 entered the Church would have seen she was painting over the existing image.

An Unexpected Tourist Boom

The aftermath of the repaint job spawned the "Ecce Mono" meme and saw the once quiet town of Borja rapidly turn into a major visitor attraction.

The town, which had in the past seen only 5,000 tourists per year, received more than 40,000 tourists by 2013, and managed to raise more than €50,000 for charity from the interest.

Today, local authorities estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists travel to Borja every year to view the notorious portrait, which is now protected by a pane of glass.

Later Life and Local Admiration

Following the initial backlash, with support from local residents and others around the world, Giménez later stage an exhibition of her paintings showcasing twenty-eight of her own paintings.

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

In the end, what began as a sincere but flawed act of restoration created an improbable piece of pop culture and provided remarkable attention and resources to a humble Spanish town.