 Joseph Elias Tawil was born in Damascus, Syria, the son of Elias and Malakie (Salman) Tawil.One of nine children in the family, he was raised in an observant Melkite family; his maternal uncles included Paul Salman, the Archbishop of Petra and all Jordan, and Archimandrite Clement Salman.He studied for the priesthood under the White Fathers in St. Anne's Seminary in Jerusalem.