The presence of a sizeable Maronite community in Beirut dates back to the Crusades, as witnessed by William of Tyre.

Tobia Aoun travelled to Rome in 1862 and was personally received during a private audience by Pope Pius IX who named him Assistant to the Pontifical Throne.

In becoming Assistant to the Pontifical Throne, Tobia Aoun immediately entered the Papal nobility as Count of Rome.

In 1862, Bishop Aoun was received by Emperor Napoleon III in Paris and awarded the French Legion of Honour.

That same year, he was received by Sultan Abdul-Aziz in Constantinople and awarded the Ottoman Empire's Order of Medjidjie (Nishan-i-Majidia).

Dibs rebuilt the Saint George Cathedral, in the forms we see today, and opened a minor seminary.