Fr. Peter Funk, O.S.B., is the prior of the Monastery of the Holy Cross, a contemplative Benedictine monastery in the archdiocese of Chicago.  Before entering monastic life in 1997, he was a choral conductor at St. Thomas the Apostle parish and the University of Chicago.  His exposure to great Renaissance composers such as Palestrina and Victoria was catalytic in his desire to enter religious life as well as his interest in the power of Catholic culture to evangelize.  Having studied theology at St. John's School of Theology in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he majored in Scripture, he was ordained to the priesthood in May 2004.