His Name at birth was Faris. When he became a Maronite priest on 17/3/1907, he adopted the name of Saint John, or Youhanna. He then became known as Khoury (meaning "priest") Youhanna, or for short, Khoury Hanna. He served the parish of Haret es-Saydeh in Tripoli, Lebanon, for 56 years.

He was one of the original inhabitants (settlers) of the new quarter of "Koubbeh" in Tripoli, where he built one of the first houses there. He also owned a great deal of olive groves poroperties north of Koubbeh. He had to sell all these properties during World War One to feed and educate his family. He was a great gardener, and spent much of his free time working the garden of his house, where he planted almost all types of fruit trees that can grow in Tripoli, including bananas. His niece Najibeh, the daughter of Assaad Hanna Dib also married a Tannouri from Koubbeh.