From 1696 to 1707 he studied in Rome and at his return in Lebanon, on June 10, 1708, he was ordained as a priest by his uncle Jacob Awad, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, who reigned from 1705 to 1733, and whom he served as secretary.

Finally, on March 16, 1743, to keep the Church united, the Papal brief Nuper nos,[6] Benedict XIV named the archeparch of Damascus, Simon Awad, new Maronite patriarch in place of the two pretenders.

Benedict XIV designated the Franciscan Desire Casabasciana, of the Custody of the Holy Land, to restore order and peace in the Maronite Church.

[13] During the patriarchate of Simon Awad, he began to examine the case of religious, mystical and visionary Hindiyya al-'Ujaimi,[14] whose reputation for holiness had spread throughout Lebanon and the Maronite Church.

The complaints against the nun went on anyway, and on 1752 Pope Benedict XIV ordered an inspection, carried out by a Franciscan, Desiderio da Casabasciana, who, initially hostile, became himself a supporter of Hindiyya.

[15] The case was brought by the Jesuits in Rome: with brief Ad supremam[16](4 January 1742), the Pope disapproved of the attitude of the patriarch in favor of Hindiyya, suppressed her religious congregation that she founded and ordered his transfer to another monastery.