While doing research for my post on Monsignor George Carroll’s relief work in Korea, I came across another name: Sister Gabriella Mulherin, MM. She worked with Monsignor Carroll in the founding of the Korean Association of Voluntary Agencies to support the Korean People. However, her involvement with Volunteer work did not stop there.
Sister Gabriella Mulherin is one of the founders of the Korean Credit Union Movement, a guiding leader, and a determined educator. Under her guidance in the 1960s, the movement went from one institution with 28 members to thousands with over a million members. She not only started the first Credit Union, but acted as a leader for Cooperatives across the country. Men and Women alike sat and listened to her lessons. Join me as we learn more about this incredibly influential figure in Korea.
Becoming a Veteran Missioner
Sister Gabriella Mulherin was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on May 19th, 1900. In High School, she heard a talk by Maryknoll Co-founder, Fr. Thomas Price, MM. This inspired her to join Maryknoll, entering the Sisters on September 24th, 1923. Her first assignment was to Korea in 1926, where she made her final vows in 1929.
This was the start of a 31 year long career in Korea, mostly in language and industry education. She served in Gishu, Pyang Yang and Yeng Yu from 1926 to 1942, her ministry interrupted by the outbreak of World War 2. She spent 6 years working for the Society Administration, including acting as secretary for Superior General James E. Walsh, MM. Sister Gabriella Mulherin then moved to Hawaii, where she spent 3 years working for Catholic Relief Services before returning to Korea in the wake of the Korean War.
Founding A Movement
Upon her return to Korea, Sister Gabriella Mulherin found a war-torn country rife with poverty and sickness. She started an Arts and Crafts center to aid war widows and young women in developing skills they could use to support themselves. During this time, she helped form KAVA with Monsignor Carroll to help uplift Korean refugees. All of this volunteer work was the prelude to Sister Mulherin’s role in founding a larger movement.
In 1957, Sister Mulherin returned to the United States for renewal, where she contemplated how to further aid the Korean People. At the suggestion of Sister Victoria Francis Larmour, MM, Sister Mulherin took an intensive course on adult education and Credit Unions. This set her on a fateful path, as she prepared to return to Korea.
Now on her second return to Korea, Sister Mulherin continued her work at the Arts and Crafts center and KAVA. In 1959, she held her first workshop on Credit Unions in Korea for members of KAVA. This four-day workshop was relatively successful, and Sister Mulherin began winding down her work at the Arts and Crafts center. In March 1960, she held a 6 week course at the Sisters’ Clinic in Pusan, this time for local Koreans. By the end of the course, on May 1, 1960, 28 Koreans gathered together to form Korea’s first Credit Union. The initial savings accumulated to about $30.00 USD.
While it was a small start, the wheels of the movement were gaining momentum. In a few years, dozens of Credit Unions opened in South Korea with their numbers steadily growing. She advocated for proper legal status for the credit unions, putting them on a similar level to other countries. She also opened the Cooperative Education Institute to help educate leaders and members on Credit Unions and cooperatives.
Becoming a Leader
Sister Gabriella Mulherin was not just a founder, but also a leader of the Korea Credit Union Movement. From 1960 to 1967, the movement looked to her for guidance, leadership, and education. In a male-dominated society, she was treated with respect for her knowledge and wisdom. Growing in age, Sister Mulherin knew she had to work fast and hard to prepare Koreans to take over the movement.
For the Cooperative Education Institute, she mentored Xavier Hee Sup Park and John Sung Ho Park to take over her role as Director. She spoke to rooms of men at workshops and conferences, offering her hard-earned wisdom. Her efforts paid off, as the momentum of the movement never slowed.
As someone has said so aptly, “Cooperatives are people”, and that being so they, at certain places, take on something of the character of the people; they have a history… and they reflect the philosophy and the culture of the people who form them.
Sister Gabriella Mulherin, MM
“Our Story of Voluntary Cooperatives in Korea”
No one of us is here for private, personal, or selfish enrichment. We are, each one of us, in a special sense debtors to our people… I am a debtor to you – to the people of Asia – to the people beyond Asia anywhere in the world. I have the responsibility to share with you and them whatever I have gained in knowledge and experience.
Sister Gabriella Mulherin, MM
4th Asian Regional Credit Union Leaders’ Training Conference
End of a Career
Sister Gabriella Mulherin retired from mission in 1967, returning to Maryknoll for the rest of her life. Even in retirement, she was still an respected leader in the Credit Union Movement. Over the years a steady stream of leaders came to consult the wise woman, getting her advise on how best to support and grow Credit Unions. This dedication continued until May 12, 1993 when Sister Mulherin passed away a week shy of her 93rd birthday.
