What does "venerable" mean?

Venerable: Rendered sacred by religious or other associations; that should be regarded with awe and treated with reverence; as, the venerable walls of a temple or a church. Note: This word is employed in the Church of England as a title for an archdeacon. In the Roman Catholic Church, venerable is applied to those who have attained to the lowest of the three recognized degrees of sanctity, but are not among the beatified, nor the canonized. -- Ven"er*a*ble*ness, n. -- Ven"er*a*bly, adv.