Tenerife priest apologises for ordering 300-year-old frescoes to be painted over

Héctor Lunar says he had no idea frescoes were protected and ‘we’re now in hands of God’ as experts see if they can be saved

A priest on the Spanish island of Tenerife has apologised after accidentally ordering a set of listed, 300-year-old frescoes in his parish church to be painted over as he attempted to ready the building for Holy Week.

The incident, at the church of St Anthony of Padua in the town of El Tanque, has prompted an outcry from locals, an investigation by the regional government of the Canary islands, and comparisons with other damaging amateur restorations in Spain.