Bust and tombstone from 1929 in Vilnius Cathedral (destroyed after 1945), source: Polona.

Had he not died prematurely on 17 February 1926, he would have assumed the office of Archbishop Metropolitan of Vilnius instead of Bishop Romuald Jałbrzykowski. From 1908 to 1925, Father Jan Cieplak was auxiliary bishop of the Mogilev archdiocese, at that time the largest Roman Catholic archdiocese in the world, covering the whole of Russia up to Sakhalin. His patriotic, pro-Polish activities stirred up opposition from both the tsarist and Bolshevik authorities. In 1923, the Bolsheviks passed a death sentence on him and it was only thanks to the efforts of the Polish authorities that he was finally released. The price was the release of Soviet spies from Polish prisons. He returned to the reborn Republic of Poland in 1924. He died unexpectedly during a pastoral tour of the USA in 1925. The preparatory process for the beatification of the Servant of God Jan Cieplak has been underway since 1952 in Rome.

Apart from his good memory, the metropolitan left a small keepsake: this beautifully decorated pipe, which is on display in the permanent exhibition of the Sybir Memorial Museum. It was given to Archbishop Cieplak by the Sybiraks as a token of gratitude for his work.