The best-known example of such a case is certainly the Jesus fresco in the village of Borja near the Spanish city of Zaragoza: in 2012, an 80-year-old amateur wanted to repair the 19th century mural, but changed the depiction of Jesus in such a way that it was labelled a monkey or hedgehog by many due to its new appearance.
The hedgehog Jesus made international headlines at the time. Similar "embellishments" have taken place repeatedly in Spain in recent years, such as the restoration of several statues of saints with lipstick and eyeliner in 2018 or the disfigurement of a centuries-old wooden figure of St George a year later. Now an accidental church renovation has joined this series.
In the small town of Latre in the northern Spanish region of Aragon, a local entrepreneur has erected a monument to himself as part of the renovation of the parish church that he financed, as local media reported on Wednesday.
Property entrepreneur Eduardo Lacasta had himself portrayed as Matthias the Apostle in the 12th century church. This is no coincidence, as Lacasta is clearly recognisable in the fresco. Even though the renovation of the Romanesque church took place last summer, the depiction of the entrepreneur has only now become known to a wider public.
The current reporting was triggered by a letter from an art historian who anonymously contacted the editorial team responsible for the region at the Spanish radio station "SER".
Diocese has "strict guidelines" for church renovations
In her letter, the author described the sponsor of the renovation as "megalomaniac" and accused him of "self-promotion".
The author also criticised the fact that Lacasta's specifications for the restoration "did not respect the colours, the techniques or the appropriate materials" with regard to the historical design of the church.
"Future generations have a right to preserve an authentic heritage and not a work altered by the exaggerated whims of a local resident." The diocese of Jaca, to which the church of San Miguel belongs, stated that it was unaware of the restoration and in particular the depiction of the patron Lacasta in the church.
There are "strict guidelines" that must be adhered to when renovating church buildings, said Jesús Lizalde, the diocesan commissioner for the protection of historical monuments, when asked by "SER".
Lizalde stated that he had met with Lacasta in Latre at the end of December: The businessman was an "enthusiastic believer" who had been unaware of his actions, the diocesan employee said. "He realised that he had messed up and asked for forgiveness."
How the diocese will now deal with the depiction of the Apostle Matthias depends on the state monument protection authority. This is because the church is part of a tourist network of important Romanesque churches in the region, the "Route of the Churches of the Serrablo".
The association condemned Lacasta's self-promoting action - as did the head of the municipality of Caldearenas, to which Latre belongs. "We stood there with our mouths open when we saw his face there. He painted himself as a saint," says Mayor Primitivo Grasa.
Convicted offender is a lover of religious art
The criticism of Lacasta's influence on the church renovation is not only due to the fact that a wealthy resident was able to impose his artistic ideas on the work he financed.
After all, patronage has a long tradition in the construction and maintenance of places of worship or religious works of art - as does the occasional depiction of the generous patrons as saints, for example. In recent years, Lacasta has become better known primarily as a criminal.
In 2020, the property entrepreneur was sentenced to a total of six years in prison for defrauding state institutions in the region of Aragon of 45 million euros.
A network of more than 50 individual companies had enabled Lacasta to shift the money intended to support construction projects into his own pocket without being noticed. The convicted offender was released from prison after three months because none of the three sentences exceeded two years.
However, the entrepreneur had already come into conflict with the investigating authorities in 2013 because he had accumulated tax debts of over ten million euros. During a house search at the time, the police discovered that Lacasta was obviously a lover of religious art: several valuable chalices and paintings depicting saints were found in his house.
It is to be hoped that the convicted man has now reformed and perhaps wanted to atone for his guilt by financing the renovation of the church in his home village.
Even if this does not make him a saint - contrary to what his portrayal as the apostle Matthias might suggest.