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

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

Giménez's restoration effort spread across the internet and earned the moniker "Monkey Christ", largely due to the resulting depiction of Christ's head looking somewhat like a hairy monkey.

Local Announcement and Homage

The 94-year-old's death was announced by the town's mayor, Eduardo Arilla, via an online statement, where he acknowledged her as a "passionate enthusiast of painting from a young age".

"Rest in peace Cecilia, your memory will live on with us," the mayor posted.

Arilla also paid tribute to Giménez's "famous restoration of Ecce Homo" in August 2012, which "due to the poor state of conservation it presented, Cecilia, with the best intentions, decided to apply new paint over the original".

The Artwork's Background and the Fateful Act

The Ecce Homo ("Behold the Man" in Latin) by nineteenth-century painter Elias Garcia Martinez had been held for more than a century in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church close to Zaragoza.

At the time, 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 local priest to proceed.

She added at the time that anybody who entered the church would have seen she was applying paint to the original image.

An Unexpected Economic Lifeline

The impact of the restoration spawned the "Monkey Christ" meme and saw the once quiet town of Borja rapidly turn into a major tourist destination.

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

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

Legacy and Community Support

Following the wave of criticism, backed by the townspeople and well-wishers around the world, Giménez went on to hold an exhibition of her paintings featuring 28 of her personal paintings.

She was praised by Borja's mayor for her kind-hearted nature and years of dedication to the church.

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