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The Spanish parishioner who achieved global fame 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 northern Spain, became a global sensation thirteen years ago after she attempted to restore a 100-year-old fresco known as Ecce Homo located in her local church.

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

Local Announcement and Tribute

The nonagenarian's passing was confirmed by the town's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, in a social media post, where he described her as a "great lover of painting from a young age".

"Rest in peace Cecilia, we will always remember you," the mayor posted.

Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "now-legendary restoration of Ecce Homo" in the summer of 2012, which "due to the deteriorated condition it presented, Cecilia, with the best intentions, chose to repaint the work over".

The Painting's History and the Fateful Intervention

The Ecce Homo ("This is the Man" in Latin) by nineteenth-century artist Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for more than a century in the Santuario de la Misericordia close to Zaragoza.

At the time, Giménez, then 81, explained 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 also noted that anybody who came into the Church would have seen she was painting over the original image.

A Surprising Tourist Boom

The aftermath of the restoration spawned the "Ecce Mono" meme and transformed the once quiet town of Borja rapidly turn into a major tourist destination.

The municipality, which had previously seen only five thousand visitors per year, attracted over 40,000 tourists by 2013, and generated more than €50,000 for charity from the attention.

Currently, local authorities say that between 15,000 and 20,000 tourists visit Borja every year to view the famous portrait, which is now displayed behind a protective shield of glass.

Later Life and Local Admiration

Following the initial backlash, backed by the townspeople and well-wishers globally, Giménez later stage an art exhibition featuring 28 of her personal works.

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

Ultimately, what began as a well-intentioned but unsuccessful act of restoration forged an unlikely piece of pop culture and brought unprecedented tourist revenue to a humble Spanish town.