The latest restoration of a 200-year-old shrine in Poland has left people extremely angry. The statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ looked usual before the botched renovation process, which gave them cartoonish looks, inviting the fury of the village people and online users. The bizarre transformation reminded many of the infamous “Monkey Christ” from a horrible restoration job of a northern Spanish church done in 2012.
Located near the village of Studzionka, Poland, the treasured shine dates back to 1820. For over 200 years, the people have paid homage to the roadside statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus as part of their religious practices. However, after fresh photos of the shrine emerged, social media users were left in shock with the transformation.
The Blessed Mother, once described as “tall and slender,” now looks like a poorly drawn character from the Simpsons. Her skin has turned yellow, and her giant white eyes are carrying a bizarre expression that has lost her serene charm. On top of that, her crooked frown, highlighted with bright red lipstick, reminded many of some cartoon characters, sparking fury among the Catholic followers.
As for the statue of Jesus, the same alarming shade of yellow skin terrified many passersby, while his grey underpants almost ruined the original essence of the shrine. The restoration artist didn’t really stop here as he also removed the original German inscription, replacing it with “VII 2024, JC 2” in what looks like a black marker pen.
The botched renovation of the Mother of God and Jesus Christ has been deemed disrespectful and “barbaric” by many online users. On the internet, one compared the fresh images of the statues with cartoon characters: “In The Simpsons, this painter would have gotten a job, but it’s a fact— I often see how ‘painters’ restore statues…Recently, I saw a beautiful statue of Jesus in an old photo, and the new repainting doesn’t even take into account that the robe is red on the outside and light on the inside—everything is just painted red. On top of that, there are those overly bright or excessively pastel colors… It’s better not to touch it than to ruin it.”
Another user wrote, “It looks more like Bart Simpson than The Mother Mary.” “I would take a risk and notify the prosecutor’s office about offending religious feelings. Because this is nothing more than an example of desecrating an object of religious worship,” one person lamented. Another outraged viewer spoke up, calling the job “The times of the greatest barbarity and ignorance.”
Krzyż przy drodze w Studzionce przed i po nieudanej, amatorskiej renowacji. 200-letnia kapliczka zniszczona. Konserwator zabytków szuka teraz artysty, który pomalował kapliczkę. Nie wiadomo czy uda się usunąć to “dzieło”. Zdjęcie przed z Google Maps@RadioZET_NEWS pic.twitter.com/nYiysp9rfR
— Szymon Kastelik (@SKastelik) March 20, 2025
Although the author of the restoration remains unknown, the inscription suggests that it was done in 2024 and was only revealed to the public after the photos surfaced on social media. Since the shrine is a registered monument, no such change can be made without the permission of a regional conservator. However, the Polish authorities clarified that no approval was granted, and an investigation has since been launched to find out who was behind the botched job.
“We will now carry out an inspection to determine how much damage has been done to the monument,” said Miroslaw Rymer, a spokesman for the Silesian Conservator of Monuments.
Meanwhile, the renovation reminded many of Cecilia Giménez’s infamous restoration. In 2012, the amateur Giménez ruined a 1930 fresco by Elías García Martínez, giving the Jesus statue a “chimp-like” appearance. Local authorities initially suspected vandalism but then found out Giménez had done the job in good faith. Later, the statue became an international sensation, with tourists flocking from across the world to the Mercy church in Borja and just have a look at what earned the name “Monkey Jesus.”
