El Douaihy was born to a noble family (El Douaihy) at a time when the Maronites were suffering badly from Ottoman oppression. However, the Ottoman Empire was not benefiting from the expansion of world commerce, and so the Ottoman rulers, and the local Muslim and Druze chiefs who ruled with Ottoman consent (something which could be withdrawn) enriched themselves by taxing the Maronite peasantry. At the age of sixteen, recognized as a brilliant young talent, he was sent to the Maronite College (Seminary) in Rome.[4] He studied there for fourteen years, from 1641 to 1655, being cured of a serious condition which almost led to blindness.