Priest ‘sorry’ for having frescoes painted over

A priest has apologised for mistakenly ordering 300-year-old frescoes to be painted over in his parish church in the Canary Islands.

The incident prompted an outcry from islanders on Tenerife after the cleric tried to touch up the Church of St Anthony of Padua, in the town of El Tanque, for Easter week.

Father Héctor Lunar said he did not know the frescoes were given protected status over 10 years ago.

The church, constructed in the 16th century and reconstructed in the 18th century after its destruction in a volcanic eruption, was officially listed in 2011. The frescoes were uncovered 20 years ago when the building underwent restoration works.

Fr Lunar said he had apologised to “all the relevant authorities” telling El Día newspaper: “No one told me about it. All I wanted to do was add another coat of paint to that bit of the church to get it ready for Holy Week events.”

Local newspapers were quick to draw comparisons with other damaging amateur restorations in Spain over recent years.

The so-called restoration of the “Monkey Christ” in 2012 saw a devoted parishioner botch the repair of a 1930s fresco by Elías García Martínez, entitled Ecce Homo (Behold the Man), in a church in Borja, Spain.

Other well-known blunders include an excessive restoration of a statue of St George – which was linked to the cartoon Tintin – and a garish makeover of a 15th-century trinity of wooden statues.

Father Lunar said he had only just discovered that the church’s protective status had meant he needed to ask Canarian authorities for permission before restoring the church.

“If they need to punish me, they should,” he said. “My mistake was not having informed myself about the riches of the church of St Anthony of Padua. I apologise to the authorities and the religious community of El Tanque. My intention wasn’t to cause any damage in improving the church. I’m very sorry.”

Fr Lunar reportedly fled his home country of Venezuela after being threatened for criticising the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro. He said the community and his parish were “now in the hands of God”.

El Tanque’s mayor Esther Morales welcomed Mr Lunar’s apology and said she hoped the frescoes could be saved. “We just hope everything can get back to normal as soon as possible,” she told El Día.