El Khoury was born in Saghbine, Lebanon. On 14 June 1958, he received his ordination to the priesthood and was incardinated in the clergy of the Eparchy of Sidon. On 8 June 1996, Pope John Paul II appointed him Eparch of Sidon. The Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, ordained him bishop on 5 October of the same year. His co-consecrators were Boutros Gemayel, Archeparch of Cyprus, and Roland Aboujaoudé, auxiliary bishop of Antioch. On 28 December 2005, Pope Benedict XVI accepted his age-related resignation.
