A tiny village in northeastern Spain was shocked to discover that a mystery “saint” had appeared in their church that bore a remarkable likeness to a local businessman.

It emerged that Eduardo Lacasta, an 82-year-old real estate dealer with a criminal record, had paid for the restoration of the 900-year-old San Miguel church in his home village of Latre and commissioned an artist to paint its newly installed ceiling.

“The artist decided that the saint should look like me,” Lacasta said, dismissing claims he purposely instructed the artist to paint him as Saint Matthias, the last of the 12 apostles.

But there has been anger among the nine residents of Latre for the church benefactor’s “lack of respect”.

“Saint Matthias, would you believe? That is not a good match for him,” one local woman told RTVE, Spain’s state broadcaster.

Lacasta was sentenced to six years in prison in 2020 for defrauding Spain’s tax office and other public bodies out of €45 million (£37 million). He only spent three months in jail thanks to a plea deal.